New Delhi:
Some hostages crouched on the floor for as long as 27 hours, remaining motionless, while some could only gasp in shock as armed rebels entered the train and began executing passengers. The freed hostages of Jaffar Express, which was hijacked by members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), have described the terrifying ordeal of the attack and what they went through before being rescued by Pakistani security forces.
On Tuesday, the Jaffar Express, traveling from Quetta to Peshawar with 440 passengers, was ambushed by armed rebels. The 30-hour siege ended in a deadly confrontation that left 21 civilians and four security personnel dead, while all 33 militants were killed in a final military operation.
Speaking after the attack, train driver Amjad recounted that the militants detonated an explosive under the train’s engine, causing the bogies to derail.
“As soon as the train stopped, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists launched an attack,” he said. “The terrorists breached the train by smashing windows, but they mistakenly believed we were dead.”
For the hundreds trapped inside, the ordeal was relentless. Survivors also said that the attackers separated passengers based on their region of origin.
Rescued passenger Arslan Yousaf recounted the militants’ methodical violence. “Sometimes, they took soldiers… and executed them,” he was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters, referring to passengers from the Pakistan Army and security forces who were traveling on leave.
“Other times, they targeted specific individuals. If they had a grudge against someone, they shot him on the spot,” he added.
Freed hostage Mehboob Ahmed, 31, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and described how some captives tried to escape.
“We made two attempts. Some succeeded, but many were shot dead as the armed men opened fire,” he said. “We had nearly lost hope for survival.”
Another freed hostage, Muhammad Tanveer, said they were given only water to survive.
Balochistan, a resource-rich but insurgency-hit province, hosts major China-led infrastructure projects, including the Gwadar Port and gold and copper mines.
While Baloch rebels have long targeted security forces, installations, and foreign projects, this is the first recorded hijacking of a passenger train.
The attack on the Jaffar Express began Tuesday morning, when BLA rebels blew up a section of railway track, forcing the train to stop in the rugged Bolan region of Balochistan. Armed with rocket launchers, automatic weapons, and grenades, the militants barged into the train. In the remote mountain pass, they took passengers hostage and engaged in a prolonged firefight with Pakistani security forces.
By Wednesday, Pakistan’s military had launched a full-scale operation to retake the train. Pakistani military confirmed that 21 civilians died during the siege.
“The security forces cleared the train bogey to bogey,” a Pakistani army statement read. The Army, Air Force, and Frontier Corps (FC) coordinated the counter-attack, with Pakistan’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) commandos leading the assault.
After hours of intense fighting, all 33 militants were killed, and more than 300 passengers were successfully rescued.
While Pakistan’s military declared a complete victory, the BLA disputed the official account, claiming that they still held hostages and that the battle was ongoing.
The group’s spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, alleged that the people Pakistan claimed to have rescued were actually released by the militants themselves.
“Now that the state has abandoned its hostages to die, it will also bear responsibility for their deaths,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
In the wake of the attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif traveled to Quetta on Thursday for a security briefing.