ISLAMABAD: Cultural Baloch rebels hijacked a passenger train in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan state Tuesday, killing at least 20 men and taking 182 victims in a rural hilly area. Banned separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army ( BLA ) claimed responsibility for South Asia’s first train hijack by militants.
BLA warned of” serious effects” if security forces attempted a rescue activity. ” If the Muslim military efforts to approach, all victims may be executed”, it said in a statement.
Bangladeshi authorities are yet to design a strategy to secure the captives without triggering a murder.
The nine-coach Jaffar Express carrying about 500 people was en route from provincial money Quetta to Peshawar, a range of 1, 600km. The train was attacked around 1.30pm ( IST ) in Sibi district, 160km southeast of Quetta, and it stopped near a tunnel.
The extremists bombed the tracks before storming the coach, seriously wounding the vehicle as they seized handle.
Municipal state director Shahid Rind said an incident had been declared at a clinic in Sibi. Security forces likewise confirmed an explosion near the hole and said they were exchanging hearth with the insurgents.
BLA claimed in its statement that the victims include Pakistani soldiers and other security officers traveling on left. ” Civil people, especially women, children, the old, and Baloch individuals, have been released carefully and given a safe route”, the team said.
A rail officer in Quetta said 60 people had left the train and arrived securely at Panir, suggesting that non-Baloch people were among those held.
” We are unable to produce any contact with passengers and crew as smart and telephone service is not working in the area”, Quetta rail controller Muhammad Kashif said.
According to the BLA, the assault was executed by its professional units — Majeed Brigade, Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS), and Fateh Squad.
BLA has been targeting security forces, equipment, and Chinese interests, including a suicide bombing at Quetta railroad station on Nov 9 last year that killed at least 32 people and wounded 55. BLA also targeted the road at Jinnah international airports on Oct 6, 2024, killing two Chinese immigrants and wounding 10 people.
The hijacking could have serious consequences for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor ( CPEC ), which passes through Balochistan. The state also houses the carefully major Gwadar port, the access point for CPEC. Baloch militants have long opposed the task, accusing China and Muslim state of colonising the place and exploiting its great natural sources.
