MILITANTS ATTACK TRAIN IN SW PAKISTAN, CLAIM TO HAVE TAKEN 100 PASSENGERS HOSTAGE

Tue 11 March 2025:

A gun battle is underway between security forces and heavily armed militants who have claimed to have taken 100 passengers hostage after attacking a train in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday.

Reports of firing at a Peshawar-bound passenger train near Balochistan’s Bolan district emerged on Tuesday, but the specifics regarding casualties have so far not been shared by the government.

“There are reports of intense firing at a Jaffar Express [train], which was heading from Quetta to Peshawar, between Pehro Kunri and Gadalar,” Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, Controller Railways Muhammad Kashif said that the train, comprising nine coaches, has around 500 passengers on board.

“The train was stopped by armed men in Tunnel No 8. Efforts are being made to contact the passengers and staff,” the controller said.

Outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in a statement to local media, claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.

The incident occurred in a hilly area of remote Bolan district in southwestern Balochistan province when a group of militants detonated bombs on the railway track and opened fire on the train, injuring the driver critically, an official confirmed.

Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government told reporters that additional troops have been dispatched to the site, where security forces are already engaged in a gun battle with the attackers.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that there were several casualties in the attack.

According to the government’s statement, an emergency has been imposed at the Sibi hospital, while ambulances and security forces were on their way to the site of the incident. However, Rind added, the officials were facing difficulties in reaching the site due to the rocky terrain.

“The railway department has sent more trains to the site to provide rescue,” the statement further said.

“The scale of the incident and the possibility of terrorist elements are being determined. The Balochistan government has ordered that emergency measures be taken, and all institutions remain active.”

The official urged the public to remain calm and avoid paying heed to rumours.

The BLA and some other groups have long been involved in attacks on security forces and citizens from other provinces.

They have been fighting for the “liberation” of Balochistan, which they contend was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan following the end of British colonial rule in united India in 1947.

In October last year, Pakistan Railways had announced the restoration of train services between Quetta and Peshawar after a suspension of more than a month and a half.

Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist attacks over the past year. In November 2024, at least 26 people were killed and 62 injured after a suicide blast ripped through a Quetta Railway Station.

A security report released in January by the Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) showed that in 2024, the number of terror attacks reached levels comparable to the security situation in 2014 or earlier.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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