Pakistan: Balochistan train hijacking death toll climbs to 31
ByHT News Desk
Mar 14, 2025 08:34 PM IST
Pakistan has long accused India and Afghanistan of providing money, weapons, and training to the insurgents operating in Balochistan.
Pakistani Army spokesperson on Friday confirmed that the number of fatalities in the train hijack in the mountainous southwestern region of Balochistan had risen to 31.
Soldiers board a relief train headed to Bolan, where a passenger train was attacked by separatist militants, at a railway station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan.(REUTERS)
Soldiers board a relief train headed to Bolan, where a passenger train was attacked by separatist militants, at a railway station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan.(REUTERS)
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for hijacking the Jaffar Express on Tuesday, an attack during which they blew up train tracks and held passengers hostage in a tense day-long standoff with security forces in a remote mountain pass in Balochistan province.
“We have evidence that all the links to terrorism in Pakistan are traced back to Afghanistan,” Reuters quoted Army spokesperson Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry telling a press conference in Islamabad.
General Chaudhry presented the complete figure of casualties, comprising 18 soldiers, three railway workers, and five civilians among the hostages, plus another five soldiers who were killed during the rescue operation whereby 33 insurgents died. A total of 354 hostages were freed, he confirmed.
Chaudhry dismissed reports in the BLA that they were still holding on to some hostages, noting there was no evidence to support this and said the military had successfully terminated the siege.
The BLA is by far the strongest and the most influential among the several Baloch separatist groups that have been fighting for decades for the independence of Balochistan, an area rich in natural resources, where there are major Chinese-led projects, including a deep-water port and large mining operations.
The group hijacked the Jaffar Express with 440 passengers onboard in the Bolan area of the province on Tuesday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday visited Balochistan to review the law and order situation and expressed solidarity with the people following the Jaffar Express hijacking incident.
"Pakistan's peace and prosperity are linked with it (terrorism). There will be no prosperity without peace,” Sharif said while speaking at a high-level meeting.
PM Sharif also said that terrorism posed a threat to Pakistan's existence and the menace should be wiped out from the country and called for national unity to deal with it.
rec-icon Recommended Topics
Share this article
Pakistan
Pakistan Army
Balochistan
Read breaking news, latest updates from US, UK, Pakistan and other countries across the world on topics related to politics,crime, and national affairs.
See More
Read breaking news, latest updates from US, UK, Pakistan and other countries across the world on topics related to politics,crime, and national affairs.