The Jaffar Express, which has been attacked several times in the recent past, escaped a bomb attack in Nasirabad district of Balochistan on Sunday, police and railway officials said.
According to police officials, unidentified attackers had planted an explosive device on the railway tracks in Shaheed Abdul Aziz Bullo area to attack the Peshawar-bound train traveling from Quetta and then detonated it.
However, the train passed through the area safely and no loss of life was reported, officials said.
Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police Ghulam Sarwar said. Sunrise that police and other security forces had arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion, cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.
“A search operation has also been launched to locate the elements involved in the attack,” he stated.
On the other hand, railway officials said. Sunrise A part of the track was damaged due to the explosion, so rail traffic between Quetta and the rest of the country was suspended. Meanwhile, officials added that the Jaffar Express continued its journey to Peshawar after reaching Jacobabad in Sindh.
Railway officials said Jaffar Express had resumed operations today after a four-day suspension. Train operations were suspended for safety reasons, they said.
With an increase in terrorist attacks in recent years, Balochistan has seen a series of incidents in which militants blew up railway tracks, targeting the province’s transport infrastructure.
Jaffar Express has been frequently attacked since March 11, when Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists ambushed the Peshawar-bound train carrying 440 passengers, opened fire and took hostages. Consequently, the security forces began an operation that lasted two days.
Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on March 12 that the Jaffar Express clearance operation, launched a day after the unprecedented train hijacking, was complete. He added that all the terrorists, 33 in total, who were at the scene of the attack had been killed.
On June 18, the detonation of a remote-controlled explosive device installed on the railway tracks derailed four bogies of the Jaffar Express near the livestock market in Jacobabad. No one was injured in the incident, but the attack was reportedly claimed by the banned Baloch Republican Guard in a statement.
On August 7, the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express narrowly escaped disaster when a bomb placed near the track near Sibi railway station exploded just after the passenger train passed.
Later that week, on August 10, no loss of life was reported after a bomb explosion on a railway track in Balochistan’s Mastung district derailed six bogies of the Jaffar Express. Muhammad Kashif, public relations officer of Pakistan Railways Quetta division, said Sunrise: “A bomb placed on the train tracks exploded loudly, derailing six bogies of the train.”
On September 23, at least four people were injured when an explosion derailed six bogies of the Jaffar Express near Spezand town in Dasht tehsil of Mastung district of Balochistan.
On October 7, at least seven people were injured after an explosion on a railway track derailed four bogies of the Jaffar Express in Shikarpur district of Sindh.
Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro said Sunrise“An explosion occurred on the railway tracks at 8:15 in the morning. The incident occurred at a distance of 1 km from Sultan Kot railway station.”
Later that month, on October 29, the train service escaped a rocket attack in the Notal area of Nasirabad district.
“Gunmen fired four rockets from a distance at the passenger train,” said Nasirabad SSP Ghulam Sarwar. SunriseNone of the rockets hit the train.
