Terror on the Tracks: Pakistan Train Siege Resolved After 30 Hours

The Jaffar Express, with 440 passengers on board, was hijacked by members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) while traveling from Quetta to Peshawar.

The Pakistani army announced on Wednesday that it had concluded a 30-hour operation to rescue train passengers taken hostage by a rebel group in Balochistan. The military confirmed that 21 civilians and four security personnel lost their lives during the standoff.

In an official statement, the army also reported that security forces had eliminated all 33 rebels, including suicide bombers.

The Jaffar Express, carrying 440 passengers in nine coaches, was en route from Quetta to Peshawar when members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) used explosives to derail it. The train was then hijacked near the rugged terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri, inside a tunnel approximately 160 kilometers from Quetta, on Tuesday.

Intelligence reports have definitively confirmed that the attack was planned and coordinated by terrorist leaders based in Afghanistan, who remained in direct contact with the assailants throughout the incident, according to the statement.

“Pakistan expects the Interim Afghan Government to fulfill its responsibilities and prevent the use of its territory for terrorist activities against Pakistan,” the statement added.

Prior to the army’s announcement, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed on Wednesday evening that it had killed 50 passengers. On Tuesday, the group stated it was holding 214 individuals, primarily security personnel. The BLA, the most powerful insurgent group operating in Balochistan, a province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, had warned that it would begin executing hostages unless authorities met its 48-hour ultimatum to release Baloch political prisoners, activists, and individuals it claims were forcibly disappeared by the military.