Jaffar Express hijack: Security forces rescue 155 hostages, eliminate 27 terrorists

The rescue operation for the Jaffar Express is underway, with security forces successfully rescuing around 155 hostages and eliminating at least 27 terrorists who had hijacked the train in Balochistan’s Bolan district on Tuesday.

An unknown number of terrorists bombed the railway track before storming the train near the Bolan Pass, opening fire on the locomotive and injuring the driver. The train was hijacked when it stopped just before a tunnel in a remote, mountainous region.

The train, carrying over 400 passengers in nine bogies, was en route from Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) when it came under attack. Among the hostages were a number of security personnel, a leading English newspaper reported.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they had taken a significant number of people hostage.

The hijacking was an unprecedented event, as terrorists had never previously attempted to seize an entire train along with its passengers.

According to reports, the security forces' operation forced the militants to split into small groups. Meanwhile, 17 injured passengers were shifted to a nearby hospital for urgent medical treatment.

Media sources claimed that the attackers were using satellite phones to communicate with international handlers, including a mastermind in Afghanistan. They were also using women and children as human shields, forcing security forces to exercise extreme caution during the operation.

Speaking to a private media outlet later in the day, Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Talal Chaudhry claimed that the assailants had taken some passengers to a nearby mountainous area.

“They [terrorists] are using women and children as human shields, which is why security forces are proceeding with caution,” he said.

The minister dismissed claims that the attackers had voluntarily released women and children, clarifying that the hostages were rescued through the efforts of security forces.

Chaudhry urged the international community to stand with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. “There is concrete evidence that these terrorists receive support from Afghanistan,” he said, adding that Afghan drug money was funding them.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express and praised the security forces for their “effective action” in rescuing passengers.

“Attacks on innocent citizens and passengers are inhumane and heinous acts. Those who attack passengers are against Balochistan and its traditions." Zardari said in a statement from the Presidency.

“The Baloch nation rejects those who attack and take hostages innocent passengers, elders and children. No religion or society allows such heinous acts,” he added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, stating that targeting innocent passengers during the holy month of Ramzan was proof that the terrorists had no connection to Islam, Pakistan, or Balochistan.