The Pakistani military confirmed Wednesday that 21 hostages were killed after separatist militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked a train in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The BLA, claiming responsibility for the attack, asserted that it had killed 50 people.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director of the ISPR—the public relations wing of the Pakistani Armed Forces—stated that security forces conducted a final operation to free passengers, prioritizing the safety of women and children.
The train, known as the Jaffar Express, was hijacked on Tuesday while carrying 440 passengers from Quetta to Peshawar. Heavily armed militants, some wearing suicide vests, halted the train by detonating explosives on the tracks near a tunnel. They also launched a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at the engine, forcing the driver and crew to take cover for 27 hours.
After an intense gun battle with security forces aboard the train, the militants forced passengers to disembark. Some were released, while others were taken hostage. The attackers demanded the release of Baloch prisoners within 48 hours, threatening to kill their captives if their demands were not met.
Pakistani security forces launched an operation to reclaim the train, resulting in the deaths of 21 hostages. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, vowing that the perpetrators would be “hunted down and brought to justice.”
The BLA has been engaged in a long-running insurgency, opposing what it sees as the exploitation of Balochistan’s natural resources, particularly by Chinese investors. The group disputes Pakistan’s account of the attack, claiming that fighting continues and that Pakistani forces have inflicted civilian casualties in retaliation.
During a visit to Balochistan on Thursday, Sharif denounced the BLA’s actions, asserting that “cowardly acts” would not deter Pakistan’s commitment to peace.
