QUETTA, Pakistan — In a grave incident that underscored the ongoing unrest in Balochistan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister visited the province on Thursday to meet with survivors from a recent train attack and the commandos who saved over 300 passengers from insurgents. The attack resulted in the deaths of 21 civilians and four military personnel and was carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned extremist group responsible for several violent assaults in recent months.
The train attack commenced on a Tuesday and was concluded by Wednesday as troops neutralized all 33 insurgents. Despite the hostilities, the military reported that there were no further passenger deaths during the operation. The passenger train, the Jafer Express, was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar when insurgents blew up the railway track, causing nine coaches and the engine to halt partially in a tunnel.
The BLA, known for its hostility towards Pakistani security forces, had never successfully hijacked a train before, although they have frequently attacked them. They have also targeted non-natives, including Chinese laborers involved in significant infrastructure projects worth billions in Balochistan.
Balochistan, rich in resources such as oil and minerals, is Pakistan’s largest yet most sparsely populated region. Many from the ethnic Baloch community feel marginalized and exploited by the central administration.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Quetta on Thursday was organized to oversee the arrangements for transporting the victims’ bodies back to their hometowns, as well as ensuring medical care for those wounded.
An overnight military statement revealed that the attack was orchestrated based on “confirmed intelligence” by insurgent leaders based in Afghanistan who remained in direct contact with the attackers throughout the incident. Pakistan frequently charges Kabul with providing refuge to groups like the Pakistani Taliban and the BLA, although these accusations are refuted by the Afghan government.
The military, however, has appealed to Afghanistan’s Taliban administration to fulfill its obligations and prevent its territory from being used for terror-related activities against Pakistan.
The attack was marked by the terrorists’ takeover of the train after demolishing the railway track, where they held passengers, including women, children, and the elderly, as human shields. Survivors recounted how the attackers fired at train windows, entered the coaches, and brutally assaulted those inside before taking them captive.
Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif reported that three soldiers who had been monitoring the railway were also killed during the attack.
