An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a parked car in Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, less than 100km from the provincial capital Quetta.

“It seems the IED exploded before reaching its intended destination,” a local security official, Ghulab Khan, told AFP.

“All those killed are civilian passersby,” he added.

Riaz Khan Dawar, a senior local government official, confirmed the details to AFP, adding the explosion took place close to a paramilitary compound yesterday evening.

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where rebels target state forces, foreign nationals, and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

The attack came days after four paramilitary officials were killed in the province.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the most active group in the region and often carries out deadly attacks against security forces, but the local chapter of the Islamic state group has also claimed recent attacks.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbour of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan – a claim the Taliban denies.

In Balochistan, separatist violence has intensified, including a March attack by ethnic Baloch rebels on a train carrying 450 passengers, which sparked a two-day siege and left dozens dead.

More than 241 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.