Pakistan Army Rescues Over 300 Hostages from Hijacked Train
Pakistan's military has freed more than 300 hostages after militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) seized a passenger train in Balochistan province on Tuesday.
A military spokesperson confirmed that 33 militants were killed in the rescue operation.
The attack, which targeted a train carrying approximately 440 passengers, resulted in the deaths of 21 civilians and four military personnel before the military intervention began. These figures have not been independently verified, and the total number of unaccounted passengers remains unclear.
Security forces continue searching the area to eliminate any remaining threats. Officials suspect some militants may have fled the train, potentially taking an unknown number of passengers into the surrounding mountainous terrain. Efforts are underway to locate passengers who escaped during the attack.
The BLA, designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the UK, and the US, has long demanded greater autonomy or independence for Balochistan. The group accuses Islamabad of exploiting the region’s rich mineral resources while neglecting its development. Although the BLA has previously attacked military camps, railway stations, and trains, this is the first instance of a hijacking.
Reports indicate that at least 100 of the train’s passengers were security personnel. The militants threatened to kill hostages unless authorities released Baloch political prisoners within 48 hours. During the attack, they detonated explosives on the railway tracks and opened fire near a mountain tunnel.
Eyewitnesses described the chaos onboard. Passenger Ishaq Noor told the BBC: "We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next." Communication with those onboard was difficult due to the remote location’s lack of mobile and internet coverage.
Some passengers managed to escape late on Tuesday, trekking for nearly four hours to reach the nearest railway station. Among them was Muhammad Ashraf, traveling from Quetta to Lahore to visit his family. "We reached the station with great difficulty, because we were exhausted, and there were children and women with us," he said.
The Pakistani military deployed helicopters and hundreds of troops to carry out the rescue mission. By Wednesday morning, more than 100 passengers had already been freed. The hijacking lasted over 30 hours, with authorities tightly controlling the flow of information regarding the incident and subsequent operation.
A military spokesperson vowed that all those involved in the attack would be brought to justice.
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