A bomb blast ripped through a passenger train in southern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more. The attack, claimed by a little-known militant group, comes as British intelligence sources warn that the threat of terrorism in the region is escalating once again.
The explosion struck the Karachi-bound express as it passed through a remote area of Sindh province. Emergency services rushed to the scene, but many victims were trapped inside mangled carriages. Hospital officials said the death toll could rise as several of the wounded are in critical condition.
Sources within the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) confirmed that they had been tracking a resurgence of militant activity across South Asia, with particular focus on Pakistan. "We've seen a worrying uptick in chatter and operational capability among these groups," one intelligence official told me. "This attack fits a pattern we've been monitoring for months."
The group claiming responsibility, the Sindh Liberation Front, is a small separatist outfit with links to criminal networks in the region. But British experts are sceptical that the group acted alone. "These groups don't have the resources for an operation of this scale without outside backing," a former MI6 officer said. "Someone is funding them, and that money trail leads to powerful interests."
Government documents obtained by this paper show that the Foreign Office had downgraded travel advice for parts of Pakistan only weeks ago, despite warnings from counter-terrorism officials. A memorandum dated 10 May noted "increased risk of terrorist attacks" but failed to trigger any public alert. Critics say the government is more concerned about trade deals than protecting lives.
Labour MP Nusrat Ghani, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Pakistan, called for an urgent inquiry. "British intelligence has been screaming about this for months. Why wasn't action taken?" she asked.
The attack is the deadliest in Pakistan since June 2022, when a suicide bomber killed 30 people at a Shia mosque in Peshawar. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State's local affiliate, which has largely been dormant since the Pakistani army's crackdown. But intelligence sources say the group has re-established cells in the country's lawless tribal belt.
"The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has given every extremist group in the region a shot in the arm," said a security analyst who has advised the UK government. "We're looking at a perfect storm of instability."
The British ambassador to Pakistan has condemned the bombing, but no travel advisory change has been issued. The Foreign Office insists it is monitoring the situation "extremely closely". For now, the only people paying attention are the families of the dead and the intelligence officers who saw it coming.
