The passenger train Jaffar Express, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar in Pakistan was hijacked by members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, who initially took around 450 passengers hostage on March 11. Now, Pakistani security forces have reportedly successfully rescued around 155 hostages, with an unknown number of hostages still in captivity as the train siege entered its second day on March 12. Efforts are underway to contact the passengers and staff, controller of Railways Muhammad Kashif was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The attack took place when the train was passing through the Dhadar area of the Bolan Pass. In exchange, the BLA, a terrorist outfit as declared by both Pakistan and the United States gave the govt of Pakistan an ultimatum of 48 hours to release certain Baloch political prisoners, warning of dire consequences if this demand was not met.
Eyewitnesses narrated how the attackers sifted through identity cards to identify passengers from outside Balochistan. They said those who were Punjabis were taken away by the militants. “They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to, I don’t know where,” one survivor recounted.
The train was stopped by armed men in Tunnel No 8. It was easier for them to stop the train as it was not at such a high speed. There are several tunnels in that area, and the terrain is difficult to operate. The terrorists opened fire on the train, injuring the driver, police personnel and officials onboard as per the report on several news channels. While attacking, they blew up the tracks even when the security officials onboard couldn’t stop the terrorists.
The attack was well planned since no one could connect with any member of the train because of the location of the halt being a tunnel. Authorities have put emergency-like restrictions in the area to curb the militants and prevent the situation from getting worse.
The train reportedly carried numerous security personnel heading to Punjab (Pakistan) on leave. The BLA then released an announcement stating it had released women, children, and Baloch travellers, leaving only active-duty members of the Pakistani military, police, Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF), and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as hostages.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been most prominent in Balochistan since 2011 and is behind the increasing incidents of violence in the province.
As we all know there have been past hijacking events around the world but more known ones are cases of aircraft hijacking as it is one of the easiest ways to exert pressure on any government.
What’s the conflict behind this?
Balochistan, a resource-rich yet conflict-prone province, has been plagued by a long-standing insurgency led by separatist groups demanding independence or more autonomy. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the largest of these groups, has fought against the government for decades, claiming that Balochistan’s valuable gas and mineral resources are being unfairly exploited. The region has experienced frequent attacks on security forces, infrastructure, and civilians in recent years.
One such incident happened in 2018 when the Punjab-bound Jaffar Express narrowly escaped the deadly twin blasts attempted by Baloach rebels. This particular train remains under tight surveillance of the two This particular train remains under tight surveillance of the two terrorist groups Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) as it carries personnel of Pakistani forces between Quetta and Punjab.
The major political parties along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari have condemned the attack. While the security forces are trying their best to safeguard the lives of all the passengers on board without any harm.
