Pakistani forces were in a tense standoff on Wednesday with hundreds of militants holding about 250 people hostage on a train they had hijacked in the remote southwest the day before, officials said.
The security forces held off from full-out battles as militants wearing vests loaded with explosives had barricaded themselves inside the train with the hostages.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday in a tunnel in Bolan, a district in restive Balochistan province. Its spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agree to release jailed militants.
There has been no comment from the government, which has rejected such demands in the past.
About 60 militants blew up the railway track and lobbed rockets at the Jaffar Express carrying more than 400 passengers, a security official said. So far, 190 of the passengers have been rescued by late Wednesday, government officials said. They said at least 30 militants have been killed in exchanges of gunfire since Tuesday.
Helicopters were backing up Pakistani forces in the rugged region, said spokesman Shahid Rind, describing the attack as “an act of terrorism.”
It was the first time the BLA separatists had hijacked a train, though the group has attacked trains before. The BLA regularly targets Pakistani security forces and has in the past also attacked civilians, including Chinese nationals working on multibillion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Estimates say the BLA has around 3,000 fighters.
Pakistan hosts thousands of Chinese workers as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is building major infrastructure projects, including ports and airports in Balochistan. China condemned the latest attack and foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said her country “will continue to firmly support Pakistan in advancing its counterterrorism efforts.”
Authorities said the rescued so far include women and children. An undisclosed number of security personnel have been killed, according to the three security officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Explosion in tunnel forced train to stop
Officials say the Jafer Express train was partially inside a tunnel when the militants blew up the tracks, forcing the engine and nine coaches to stop. The driver was wounded and guards aboard the train were attacked, although the officials gave no details on how many there were or about their fate.
Rescued passengers were being sent to their hometowns and the injured were being treated at hospitals in the Mach district. Others were taken to Quetta, the provincial capital, about 100 kilometres away. The train was travelling from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar when it came under attack.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the scene of insurgency, with separatists demanding greater autonomy from the government in Islamabad and a larger share of the region’s natural resources. Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least-populated province. It’s a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
Insurgencies on either side of the Iran-Pakistan border have frustrated both countries. Their governments suspect each other of supporting — or at least tolerating — some of the groups operating on the other side of the border.
In Iran, the militant group Jaish al-Adl has carried out many attacks in recent years. Tehran has sought help from Pakistan in countering the threat from it, and Pakistan also wants Tehran to deny sanctuary to BLA fighters.
In January 2024, Islamabad and Tehran engaged in tit-for-tat airstrikes targeting insurgents inside each other’s border areas, killing at least 11 people, but quickly deescalated the situation through talks.
Demand for negotiations
The BLA said the hostages and some captured members of the security forces were being guarded by suicide bombers Wednesday. The BLA has warned that the life of hostages would be at risk if the government does not negotiate.
Trains in Balochistan typically have security personnel on board, as members of the military frequently use trains to travel from Quetta to other parts of the country. In November, The BLA carried out a suicide bombing at a train station in Quetta, killing 26 people.
Analysts said the train attack and its focus on civilians could backfire.
“After failing to damage the Pakistan Army within Balochistan, BLA has shifted its targets from military to unarmed civilians. This may give them instant public and media attention, but it will weaken their support base within the civilian population, which is their ultimate objective,” said Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based independent security analyst.
