The security forces are carrying out a rescue operation for the passengers taken as hostages after the terrorists opened fire in a passenger train to Peshawar since Quetta near the Bolan district of Baluchistan on Tuesday, state media reported.
State media Pakistan radio and PTV news He previously reported cite “security sources” that the terrorists attacked Jaffar Express in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass and had taken passengers, including women and children, such as hostages while they remained in communication with their foreign “facilitators”. They added that the security forces had surrounded the area and launched an authorization operation that would continue until the aggressors were eliminated.
In a subsequent update, Pakistan radio He informed that the security forces had rescued 80 hostages in the hands of the terrorists. “According to security sources, rescued include 43 men, 26 women and 11 children,” he said, adding that security personnel were working to rescue the remaining passengers.
In an additional update at the end of the night, the departure reported that 13 terrorists were killed, while many more were injured by security forces.
“According to security sources, terrorists were divided into small groups due to the operation of security forces. The injured passengers have been transferred to the nearby hospital, while additional security squads participate in the operation in the area, ”added the report.
Prepare development in an interview in Geographical news Show ‘AAj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Minister of State of the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, said the train was hostage around noon in the remote area.
“Some passengers were released when the security forces began to reach the site,” he said, added that he could not reveal the numbers.
He added that the released passengers were being taken to the nearest station and, finally, their planned destinations. “Many people have been taken from the train to the mountainous area and women and children are being used as a shield [by the terrorists]”Chaudhry added.
The State Minister said the security forces were treading carefully due to the lives involved, saying that the operation was still underway.
“They are cowards. They [pick] Soft objectives. They attack while hiding, ”he said.
The Minister of State did not respond and continued when the presenter mentioned that, according to the reports, 80 people had been rescued, the figure cited by security sources.
The proscribed group of the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BL) attributed the responsibility of the attack.
An earlier statement from the Baluchistan government spokesman Shahid Rind, said there were reports of “intense shots in an Express Jaffa [train]that he was going to Quetta to Peshawar, between Pehro Kunri and Gadalar. ”
The Railways Muhammad Kashif controller said the train, which includes nine coaches, has about 500 passengers on board.
“The train was arrested by armed men in tunnel No. 8. Efforts are being made to contact passengers and staff,” said the controller.
“The trains are trapped just before a tunnel that surrounds the mountain,” Muhammad Dilawar, Kachhi Bolan District Police officer, told Rana Bolan Dawn.com.
Reuters They reported that the security forces said an explosion was heard near the tunnel and that they were exchanging fire with the militants in the mountainous area.
The Mashkaf tunnel is about 157 kilometers from Quetta and approximately 21 km from Sibi.
Although the Quetta-Jacobad N65 road and the railway line run mainly from side to side through the Bolan region, diverge near the city of Mashkaf.
From here, the railway line takes a more direct road, cutting the mountains and running along the Bolan River, joining the main road near Mach.
The Mashkaf tunnel is in a very isolated part of the resistant area, with the closest station located in Pehro Kunri. The next stop on the line towards Quetta is the stop in Paneer, just before the Paneer tunnel.
According to the government statement, an emergency has been imposed at the Sibi hospital, while ambulances and security forces were directed to the site of the incident. However, Rind added, the officials faced difficulties to reach the site due to the rocky terrain.
“The incident scale and the possibility of terrorist elements are being determined. The Baluchistan government ordered emergency measures to be taken, and all institutions remain active. “
Rind urged the public to remain calm and avoid paying attention to rumors.
Tariq Mahmood, the emergency counter of the Peshawar Railway Station, told the incident, he said Dawn.com that the Jaffar Express “arrives at Peshawar in 34 hours after passing through different areas of the four provinces. Most people from different Punjab areas board the train after taking off Quetta.”
An emergency has also been declared at the Quetta Civil Hospital, according to the spokesman of the Department of Health, Dr. Waseem Baig. “All consultants, doctors, pharmacists, nursing staff and paramedic staff have been summoned to the hospital,” Baig said.
Condemnations
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the incident and paid tribute to security forces for his “effective action” and rescue passengers.
“Attacks against innocent citizens and passengers are inhuman and atrocious acts. Those who attack passengers are against Baluchistan and their traditions.
“The Baloch nation rejects those who attack and take hostages to innocent passengers, the elderly and children. No religion or society allows such atrocious acts, ”he said in a declaration of the Presidency.
A statement from the prime minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for delaying terrorists towards a retirement with their “timely action and courage.”
He added that they would complete the operation soon and “lead to the cowardly terrorists to an end.”
“Bestial terrorists who carry out the cowardly attack do not deserve any concession. Terrorists are the enemies of Baluchistan’s development, “he said when pointing out that the orientation of” innocent travelers “in the sacred month of Ramazan was a” clear reflection of the fact that these terrorists have no connection with the religion of Islam, Pakistan and Baluchistan. “
“We will continue the war against the terrorism monster until it is completely eradicated from the country. We will frustrate all conspiracies to spread insecurity and chaos in Pakistan.
“We will never allow the bad intentions of the antinational elements to succeed. The whole nation defends its security forces in this war against terrorism, ”said Prime Minister.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident, saying: “The beasts that trigger innocent passengers do not deserve any concession.”
He also prayed for the rapid recovery of the injured in the shot, according to a statement.
The Interior Minister of Sindh, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, also firmly condemned the incident.
“The atrocious plans of the anti -national and antisocial elements will never be allowed,” said the statement. “The government of Sindh meets the Baluchistan government.
“The Provincial Police and other agencies of application of the law will put this situation control.”
Former President Arif Alvi condemned the “atrocious and cowardly terrorist attack”, added that people had a united position on such matters. “Here is exactly where undivided attention of the armed forces is required,” he said in an X publication.
Raise in Baluchistan’s terror
In October last year, Pakistan Railways had announced the restoration of trains services between Quetta and Peshawar after a suspension of more than a month and a half.
Baluchistan has witnessed an increase in terrorist attacks during the past year. In November 2024, at least 26 people died and 62 were injured after a suicidal explosion crossed a Quetta railway station.
A security report published in January by the group of experts based in Islamabad, Pak Institute for Peace Studies (Pips), showed that in 2024, the number of terrorist attacks reached levels comparable to the security situation in 2014 or before.
He said that while terrorists no longer controlled specific territories within Pakistan as they did in 2014, the predominant insecurity in parts of KP and Baluchistan was “alarming.”
He said that more than 95 percent of the terrorist attacks recorded in 2024 concentrated in KP and Baluchistan.
The attacks of several insurgent groups of Baloch prohibited, mainly the BL and the Liberation Front of Baluchistan, saw an amazing increase of 119 percent, which represents 171 incidents in Baluchistan, he said.
Additional reports by Nadir Guramani, Salem Shahid and Behram Baloch.
