Pakistan train attack:- “The terrorists used satellite phones to stay in touch with their masterminds and facilitators in Afghanistan throughout the operation,” Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif stated.
An army general stated on Wednesday (March 12, 2025) that militants holding hostages had taken control of a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing 21 passengers and four paramilitary soldiers.
All 33 militants on the scene were killed by security forces, according to Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, who spoke to Dunya News TV.
“All terrorists were killed and all passengers were safely rescued as the armed forces successfully concluded the operation on Wednesday, March 12, 2025,” Lt Gen Sharif stated.
He claimed that when the terrorists attacked the train on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, they killed 21 passengers. He added that the incident also claimed the lives of four paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers.
The Jaffar Express, which had nine coaches and 440 passengers, was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar when militants used explosives to derail it and took control of it in a tunnel 160 kilometers from Quetta, close to the mountainous regions of Gudalar and Piru Kunri.
The Baloch Liberation Army claimed to have killed 50 passengers Wednesday night prior to the army’s announcement. It announced on Tuesday that it was detaining 214 individuals, primarily security guards.
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the Pakistan train attack, claiming to have killed six soldiers.
Pakistan train attack: According to Lt. Gen. Sharif, terrorists detonated a railroad track in the Bolan Pass neighborhood of Osi Pur on March 11 at approximately 1:00 p.m. He characterized the region as challenging terrain, where the terrorists first employed women and children as human shields while holding hostages.
“The Army, Air Force, Frontier Corps, and Special Services Group commandos participated in the rescue operation right away,” he stated.
He claimed that the terrorists’ use of satellite phones to stay in touch with their masterminds and facilitators in Afghanistan throughout the operation demonstrated their international connection.
Lt. Gen. Sharif stated that because the terrorists were using the hostages as human shields, it took time for the forces to finish the operation.
He added that many hostages, including women and children, were released on Wednesday (March 12, 2025), and that by last evening, about 100 passengers had been safely released from the terrorists.
The rescue effort went on intermittently, and all of the hostages who were still alive were taken during the evening’s last clearance operation. The operation was carried out with great care and precision because the terrorists were using the passengers as human shields,” he told Dunya News.
Lt. Gen. Sharif stated that after snipers killed the suicide bombers, all of the terrorists inside the train compartments were systematically cleared out. According to him, the clearance operation did not result in any injuries to passengers.
According to Lt. Gen. Sharif, all terrorists at the location had been killed, but the bomb disposal squad was still clearing the area and train in accordance with standard operating procedures.
Additionally, he stated that attempts were being made to reunite passengers who had escaped in various directions throughout the operation.
Without providing an explanation, the general issued a warning that “the Pakistan train attack has changed the rule of the game.”
The terrorists and those who help them will be hunted down wherever they are, he said. “On behalf of their foreign paymasters, we cannot permit anyone to target Pakistanis,” he declared. Civilians, government workers, and security personnel were among the passengers, Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry previously told Geo News.
Officials reported earlier in the day that some of the militants, armed with explosive vests, had gathered women and children in groups and made them sit close to them. They added that the operation was being carried out with extreme caution because the suicide bombers were accompanied by women and children.
Earlier, a security source reported that about 30 injured individuals had been transported to hospitals.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised security forces for killing all 33 terrorists involved in the Pakistan train attack and successfully rescuing all hostages.
“This terrorist strike is a terrible and devastating event. “Everyone is very saddened,” he continued. “It is completely inhumane to use women and children as human shields.”
With the help of the country, he said, “the time has come to eradicate this menace once and for all. Terrorists are a burden on this land.” “These terrorists’ enablers will also face harsh consequences.”
One of the people who was saved from the train, Mushtaq Muhammad, told the BBC Urdu service that the scene of the massive explosion and gunfire was one that would never be forgotten.
Ishaq Noor, who was in coach number seven of the same train with his wife and two kids, claimed that the explosion was so powerful that it caused the train’s doors and windows to tremble and one of his kids, who was sitting close to him, to fall.
In order to ensure that “if a bullet hits us, the children will be saved,” Mr. Ishaq pulled one of his children beneath him while his wife pulled the other child beneath her as they watched the firing and the bullets striking the coaches.
The duration of the firing must have been roughly fifty minutes. We weren’t even breathing at the time, and we had no idea what would happen.
According to Mr. Mushtaq, the armed men entered the coaches as the firing gradually ceased.
They began examining some people’s identity cards and separating others. Our coach’s doors were guarded by three militants. He said to the BBC Urdu service, “They told the people that they would not say anything to civilians, women, old people, and Baloch people.”
In the evening, the attackers informed the passengers that Baloch, women, children, and elderly passengers would be released, according to Mr. Ishaq.
Although they have increased their attacks on security forces, installations, and foreigners in various parts of the province since last year, this is the first time the BLA or any other insurgent group in the province of Balochistan has hijacked a passenger train.
The Pakistan train attack and the passenger hostage-taking were strongly denounced by the US Embassy in Islamabad.
It further stated that the United States will continue to be a strong ally of Pakistan in its endeavors to guarantee the security and safety of all its people. “During this trying time, we stand in solidarity with Pakistan.”
“We vehemently denounce the March 11 terrorist Pakistan train attack in Balochistan. We send our sincere sympathies to the victims’ families and the people of Pakistan. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka wrote on X, “As the situation continues to develop, we express our profound concern for the hostages and call for their immediate release.”
Over the past year, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan.
Baloch militants have previously used rockets or remote-controlled bombs to Pakistan train attack the railway tracks in this area; the BLA has claimed responsibility for the majority of these attacks.
After more than a month and a half of suspension, Pakistan Railways announced in October of last year that train services between Quetta and Peshawar would resume. A month later, a suicide explosion tore through a Quetta railway station, killing at least 26 people and injuring 62 more.
There has been a bloody insurgency in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. Attacks by Baloch insurgent groups often target government projects, security personnel, and the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the province, which is rich in minerals and oil.
Pakistan train attack: Special forces break the siege of the train.
Pakistan train attack: According to junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry, militants sat among hostages wearing suicide vests, complicating the rescue effort. He calculated that between 70 and 80 assailants had taken control of the train.
In addition to the air force and special forces, the military sent out hundreds of troops, Chaudhry said.
He claimed that during the last stage of the operation, troops passed through each carriage to neutralize the remaining militants after special forces had first destroyed the suicide bombers.
Travelers remembered the mayhem during the assault. A 75-year-old passenger named Muhammad Ashraf claimed to have heard a loud explosion in the mountainous region that rocked all of the carriages.
The Pakistan Army declared on Wednesday that the Jaffar Express hijacking was over, with the BLA militants who had taken over the train killing four paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers and 21 passengers.
Pakistan train attack:On Wednesday, Pakistani forces did not engage in frontal assaults inside a train that was taken over by militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). 250 passengers are still being held hostage in spite of the efforts of the authorities.
The train’s remote location and hostage safety concerns made the security operation challenging, Pakistan’s junior interior minister told GEO TV. The militants are seated next to the passengers and are wearing vests that are loaded with explosives.
Pakistan train attack: The train was derailed by the BLA Tuesday in a tunnel in Bolan, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. In return for the passengers, its spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, has requested that Pakistan free militants who are imprisoned.
About 190 of the 450 passengers were rescued on Tuesday, and 30 militants were killed. In the rocky area, Pakistani forces were being supported by helicopters. The injured were receiving treatment at hospitals in the Mach district, while the rescued passengers were being transported back to their hometowns.
