Security sources said Wednesday a Pakistani military operation rescued 190 passengers and killed 30 terrorists, a day after an attack on a train in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province.
The Jaffar Express, with roughly 450 people on board, was traveling north from Quetta, Balochistan, to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when it came under a bomb and gun attack Tuesday.
As the operation continues beyond 24 hours, the train remains blocked in a tunnel near Sibbi, Balochistan since Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities dispatched coffins from Quetta railway station Wednesday afternoon, expecting casualties as forces moved ahead with efforts to take control of the train.
Injured in the initial attack, the driver of the train has died. At least 37 injured people are in hospitals for treatment.
The Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, quickly claimed responsibility for the brazen attack. In a statement to media, the banned separatist militant group claimed to be holding more than 200 hostages, which it said were security and intelligence personnel.
Without sharing details about the number of hostages or their background, security sources said Wednesday that potential suicide bombers were holding hostages in three different places.
Suicide bombers are wearing suicide jackets, security sources said, adding that suicide bombers were using innocent people as human shields.
Threatening to kill the hostages, BLA demanded the release of political prisoners, missing persons, and what it called resistance workers held in Balochistan prisons. In the statement released hours after the attack, the group gave authorities 48 hours to comply.
Reaction
Officials have not publicly responded to BLA’s demands.
“The attack on Jaffar Express is an attack on national security and will be responded to with full force,” Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said, condemning the attack.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Ramadan attack shows, “terrorists have no link with Islam, Pakistan or Balochistan.”
Freed passengers shaken by the incident told media they heard a blast and gunfire soon after the train entered a tunnel.
“Don’t look back,” Shafiq-ul-Rehaman said armed men who boarded the train told passengers, ordering them to leave with their families.
“We took cover under the seats,” Ghulam Nabi, another freed passenger, told media about the moments soon after the attack.
Earlier, Imran Hayat, divisional superintendent railways in Quetta told VOA that 70 passengers had arrived at Paneer train station Tuesday evening, about 6 kilometers from the site of that attack.
Militants said they released dozens of women, children and Baloch passengers early on. However, security sources say the military rescued all the passengers freed so far.
Difficult terrain
Although just around 150 kilometers from the provincial capital Quetta, the scene of the attack, located in barren mountains, is hard to reach.
"So far, it's no foot on the ground," railway official Hayat told VOA, noting the inability of railway staff to reach the scene.
"It's a no signal area. They [attackers] stopped the train at a spot where there is no signal support," Hayat said.
Provincial spokesperson Shahid Rind, earlier, told media that security forces, a rescue train and ambulances had been dispatched.
An emergency was declared at the government hospital in Sibbi, to facilitate receiving the injured.
BLA surges
The United States and Pakistan have both designated BLA as a terrorist group.
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2025 released last week, Pakistan experienced a 45% increase in terrorism deaths last year, compared to 2023. That is the largest year-to-year rise in more than a decade. The BLA emerged as one of the top two militant groups driving the increase.
According to the report, the separatist group launched 504 attacks in 2024, compared to 116 in 2023. Deaths in the attacks surged from 88 in 2023 to 388 in 2024.
The separatist group has been fighting a deadly insurgency against the Pakistani state, accusing it of exploiting the rich natural resources of the impoverished province. The group also opposes Chinese investment in Balochistan, which is home to the China-funded Gwadar port and the country’s biggest, yet largely unused airport.
Both Pakistan and China reject the claims that their joint ventures are depriving ethnic Baloch from economic opportunities and their share in the province's mineral wealth.
Security sources have said those involved in Tuesday's attack are based in Afghanistan. Islamabad has blamed several recent attacks on militants present on Afghan soil. Afghan Taliban routinely deny providing sanctuary to anti-Pakistan fighters.
Recent attacks
Since the beginning of the year, the BLA has ramped up attacks on security forces, settlers and workers, primarily from the eastern Punjab province.
Earlier this month, a female suicide bomber detonated her explosive devices near a military convoy in Balochistan’s Kalat district, killing at least one security worker and injuring four others.
Last month, BLA insurgents ambushed a bus transporting a paramilitary force in Kalat and killed 18 of those on board.
Days later, a roadside bomb blast killed 11 coal miners in the city, while the BLA took credit for attacking a military vehicle securing a supply convoy for a mining company operated by China.
Pakistani authorities reported the convoy was passing through Kalat when it came under attack, resulting in injuries to eight security personnel.
Murtaza Zehri of VOA Urdu Service contributed to this report from Quetta.
