At least five people were killed and three others were wounded when explosives concealed inside passengers’ luggage detonated at a busy taxi stand near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on Wednesday, officials said.
Blast and immediate response
Local administration officials said the device exploded at the crowded border taxi stand, sending victims to the District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital for treatment. Security forces quickly sealed the area and cordoned off the scene as forensic teams and investigators began collecting evidence to establish how the explosives were brought into the terminal and who was responsible.
Conflicting early tolls
While initial reports put the death toll at five, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office later expressed grief over the loss of six lives, reflecting the fluidity of casualty figures that often accompanies such incidents. The prime minister called for the best available medical care for the injured and ordered that those behind the attack be identified and punished.
Government reaction and probe
The Balochistan government has ordered a formal inquiry into the attack. The provincial Home Department said investigators are probing both the nature of the explosion and the possible motives. Authorities warned that strict measures will be taken against anyone found facilitating terrorism.
Broader security backdrop
Officials said the blast comes amid a recent spike in militant violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, regions that share a largely porous frontier with Afghanistan. In related incidents, two people were hurt in a hand-grenade blast at Mangocher Bazaar in Kalat on the same day. Earlier this month and in recent days, security forces reported further clashes and attacks including an IED strike in Kech district that killed five soldiers and a large suicide attack that targeted a political rally in Quetta, claiming more than a dozen lives.
Pakistani security sources allege that some militant masterminds and facilitators are operating from Afghan territory with external backing. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to stop militant groups from using Afghan soil to plan or launch attacks inside Pakistan. A United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team report submitted to the UN Security Council has also flagged links between elements in Afghanistan and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, according to Pakistani officials citing the UN document.
Strategic and humanitarian concerns
Chaman is one of several crossing points that support cross-border trade and family ties along an approximately 2,500-kilometre frontier. Authorities say that recurring violence not only threatens civilian safety and economic life in border districts but also complicates efforts to stabilise the broader region.
As investigators continue work at the scene, provincial and federal officials have pledged swift action to dismantle the networks suspected of enabling the attack and to improve security at transport hubs frequented by cross-border travellers.
