Quetta |Pakistani security forces killed at least 27 militants and rescued 155 passengers from a train hijacked by Baloch insurgents in the troubled Balochistan province as they continued to battle rebels for a second on Wednesday.
Security sources said 37 passengers were injured during the rescue operation and have been sent for medical treatment.
The Jaffar Express, with around 500 passengers on board in nine coaches, was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when armed men intercepted it in a tunnel near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in the Bolan area on Tuesday afternoon.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bolan is a mountainous area of more than 100 kilometres between Quetta and Sibi. There are 17 tunnels in this area through which the railway track passes. The speed of trains is often slow in the area due to the difficult terrain.
Security sources confirmed that in an ongoing gun battle with the militants, they managed to rescue 150 passengers, including women and children.
At least 27 militants have been killed by security forces so far.
According to security sources, the terrorists have positioned suicide bombers wearing suicidal vests very close to some innocent hostages.
In anticipation of possible defeat, the terrorists are using innocent people as human shields and the suicide bombers have taken women and children hostage at three different locations, they said.
Due to the presence of women and children with the suicide bombers, the operation is being conducted with utmost caution.
The security sources said the operation by security forces to eliminate the remaining terrorists is continuing.
“The militants have now formed small groups to try to escape in the dark, but the security forces have surrounded the tunnel and the remaining passengers will also be rescued soon,” a source said.
The Pakistan media reported intense firing and explosion near the tunnel, where the militants hijacked the train.
Pakistan Railways have set up an emergency desk at the Peshawar and Quetta Railway stations as frantic relatives and friends try to get some information about their loved ones on the train.
The rebels claimed that they had set women and children free but the claim was contested by officials and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that the hostages were released by the security forces.
Rana Muhammad Dilawar, a district police officer in the area where the train was stopped, said the security forces had surrounded the area but there were reports that the militants had taken some women and children as hostages.
There were around four to five government officials on the train, he added.
Tariq Mahmood, a senior official of Peshawar Railway Station, said that people should not pay heed to rumours on social media and otherwise.
The BLA claimed it seized control of the train by derailing it. The group said it had killed six security personnel.
In a statement on Tuesday, the BLA warned that if the Pakistan military launches an operation, "all hostages will be executed". The group is banned in Pakistan, the UK and the US.
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.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups frequently carry out attacks targeting security personnel, government projects and the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the oil and mineral-rich province.
Pak train attack: Passengers recount terrifying ordeal
There was a huge explosion and firing, a scene that can never be forgotten, said Mushtaq Muhammad as he recounted the moment when Baloch militants attacked a passenger train in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.
Mushtaq is among 104 passengers rescued from the train that came under attack when armed men intercepted the Jaffar Express in a tunnel near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in the Bolan area on Tuesday afternoon.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Some passengers claimed that the attackers told them that they were releasing Baloch, women, children and elderly people, however, government officials claimed they rescued over 100 of them.
The train, with around 500 passengers on board in nine coaches, was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when it came under attack.
According to a report by BBC Urdu, Mushtaq, who was in coach number three of the train, said, “The attack started with a ‘huge explosion.'” “After that, the firing started. The firing continued for an hour. It was a scene that can never be forgotten," he said.
Ishaq Noor, who was in coach number seven of the same train, was travelling from Quetta to Rawalpindi with his wife and two children.
“The explosion was so intense that the windows and doors of the train shook and one of my children, who was sitting near me, fell down,” he said.
Seeing the firing and bullets hitting the coaches, Ishaq pulled one of his children under him while his wife pulled the other child under her so that “if a bullet hits us, the children will be saved.” “The firing must have lasted for about fifty minutes... During this time, we were not even breathing, not knowing what would happen.” Mushtaq said that the firing gradually stopped and the armed men entered the bogies.
“They started checking the identity cards of some people and separated some of them. Three militants were guarding the doors of our coach. They told the people that they would not say anything to civilians, women, old people and Baloch people,” he said.
Mushtaq also said these people (attackers) were talking to each other in Balochi and their leader was repeatedly telling them to keep a special eye on the security personnel and they should not get out of hand.
Ishaq says, “I think they took at least 11 passengers down from our coach and said that they were security personnel.” “At this point, one person tried to resist, so he was tortured and taken down and then there was the sound of gunfire. After that, all the people in the coach followed his instructions," he said.
Ishaq said that in the evening, the attackers told the passengers that they were releasing Baloch, women, children and elderly passengers.
“They were not letting me go, but when I told them that I was a resident of Turbat (Balochistan) and that I had children and women with me, they let me go too.” Another passenger Muhammad Ashraf said that the militants let the elderly, civilians, women and children go and then their long walk to the nearest Paneer Station began in the evening.
“We reached Paneer Station in three to three and a half hours with great difficulty, because we were tired and there were children, young girls and women with us,” he said.
He said that most of the people had left their luggage on the train, while some were coming with their luggage.
He said that “there was a lot of fear among the passengers, it was a scene of doomsday.” “According to my estimate, they (the extremists) had taken around 250 people with them and the number of attackers was also around 1,100," Ashraf said.
According to officials, Pakistani security forces killed at least 16 militants and rescued 104 passengers from the train hijacked by Baloch insurgents.
