The Pakistan Army has concluded the rescue operation of the Jaffar Express train, which was hijacked with more than 400 people on board, reporting the death of 21 passengers and 33 attackers after more than 24 hours of siege. Among the dead are four soldiers from the Pakistani paramilitary forces. The hijacking began when militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army detonated explosives on the railway track and stormed the train, taking more than 400 passengers hostage, including over 100 members of the police and armed forces.
The separatist group BLA, which seeks the independence of Balochistan, accuses the Pakistani government of exploiting the region's natural resources and marginalizing the local population. During the hijacking, they demanded the exchange of Balochi prisoners for the kidnapped passengers and issued a 48-hour ultimatum. General Chaudhry detailed that the "mastermind of the operation" was located in Afghanistan and maintained contact with the attackers via a satellite phone during the operation.
The rescue operation was carried out in stages, first neutralizing the suicide terrorists by the snipers of the armed forces and then proceeding to evacuate the carriages. The Army spokesman emphasized that it was conducted with extreme caution because the insurgents used women and children as human shields and distributed the hostages in groups, interspersing suicide terrorists. Lieutenant General Chaudhry stressed that no passengers were harmed during the final operation, despite insurgents killing 21 passengers before the rescue.
