Pakistani security forces on Wednesday stormed a hijacked train, bringing an end to a harrowing day-long standoff that resulted in the deaths of 21 hostages and four soldiers. All 33 separatist militants involved in the attack were killed, according to military officials.
The crisis began on Tuesday when militants from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) blew up railway tracks and fired rockets at the Jaffar Express. The train, carrying 440 passengers, was traveling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
“Today we freed a large number of people, including women and children. The final operation was carried out with great care,” military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. He emphasized that no civilians were killed in the final stage of the operation.
Prior to the military’s action, the BLA claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to execute hostages unless their 48-hour deadline was met. Their demands included the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons they allege have been abducted by the military. The group initially claimed to be holding 214 people, mostly security personnel, and later stated they had killed 50 passengers.
The BLA is one of several ethnic armed groups battling the government in Balochistan, a region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. These groups assert they are fighting for a greater share of the region’s wealth from its abundant mines and minerals, which they believe is denied by the central government.
In recent months, militants have intensified their activities, employing new tactics aimed at inflicting higher casualties and targeting Pakistan’s military forces.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack. In official statements, they expressed profound grief and sorrow over the loss of civilian lives and security personnel.
