On March 11th 2025, 9 AM, Jaffar Express departed from Quetta to Peshawar carrying 450 passengers in total. At least 100 passengers out of the 450 passengers were military personnel.
What first started as a normal journey soon turned into a nightmare when a separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, attacked the train and took the passengers hostage. The attackers reportedly also detonated explosives in tunnels and on the train tracks before opening fire on the train.
Here is what we currently know about the attack.
How Did the Jaffar Express Get Hijacked?
The train departed from Quetta at 9am (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday morning, embarking on a journey of more than 1,600km (994 miles) through Punjab to reach its final destination in Peshawar. The trip takes roughly 30 hours, with stops at around 30 stations across the country.
According to the officials, the attack occurred around 1pm (08:00 GMT) as the train passed through the Bolan Pass. The attackers blew up part of the railway track when the train was going in the tunnel. This interception was calculated in such a way, knowing that this is a mountainous region and counter-offensive is much more difficult in this terrain.
After blowing up the track, they seized the train and took all the 450 passengers as hostages. The hostages are reported to be mostly LEA personnel and non-Baloch civilians.
Background of Balochistan Liberation Army
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), is a Baloch ethnonationalist group founded in 2000 and have been involved in insurgencies against the Pakistani government. The claim to seek independence for the ethnic Baloch people, who they think are being stripped off of their basic national rights.
About half the world’s Baloch community resides in Balochistan and it is the largest province. Many Baloch people have experienced torture and enforced disappearances since decades. The people refer to it as the “Baloch Genocide” at the hands of Pakistani army. However, several countries, including the U.S., have declared the BLA a terrorist organisation.
The group has been officially banned in Pakistan since 2006.
Yet, despite the ban BLA attacks have only increased in recent years. Especially after Pakistan leased out Gwadar Port in Balochistan to China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. China also helped fund a new international airport in Gwadar.
These events enforced the BLA’s believes that the Pakistani government is exploiting rich minerals and using the revenue just to develop other provinces, especially Punjab. The attack from Jaffar Express is also associated with this very conflict.
Read More: 18 Soldiers Martyred, 12 Terrorists Killed in Balochistan Operation
What do We Currently Know About the Attack?
As of now, it has been reported that the separatist group demanded that there should be no Military attempt to save the hostages otherwise there will be “severe consequences.” Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has refused to not do a thing. “The beasts who fire on innocent passengers do not deserve any concessions,” Naqvi’s statement read.
Pakistani security forces launched a large-scale counter-operation at the site. They rescued 104 passengers from Jaffar Express including 58 men, 31 women and 15 children. Security personnel eliminated 16 BLA individuals during the operation. while the BLA killed 10 people in total, out of which 9 were military personnels.
Railway officials said mobile connectivity in the remote, rugged terrain is virtually nonexistent, and hence it is difficult to get timely updates of the site. Currently they are still holding women and children as shields still as we speak.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the hostages that were killed and the ones that are still hostages. We also wish speedy recovery to the ones still injured.
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