Pakistan train siege ends, 346 hostages freed; 33 militants, 21 passengers dead

The Pakistan Army on Wednesday said that the hijack of the Jaffar Express had ended, with 21 passengers and four paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers killed by Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militants who had taken control of the train.

A train carrying empty coffins to the siege site, stands at a railway station in Quetta on Wednesday.According to Pakistan security sources, the army had freed 190 train passengers taken hostage by gunmen affiliated to the Baloch Liberation Army.(AFP)

Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif told Pakistani media outlet Dunya News TV that all 33 militants present at the attack site had been killed.

“The armed forces successfully concluded the operation in the (Wednesday) evening by killing all terrorists and rescuing all passengers safely,” Sharif said.

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The Jaffar Express, carrying some 400 passengers in nine coaches, was going from Quetta to Peshawar when BLA militants derailed it using explosives and hijacked it near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in a tunnel 160 kilometres from Quetta.

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The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday when they said they killed six soldiers.

However, an Army official told AFP that 27 off-duty soldiers who were passengers on the train were killed.

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“346 hostages were freed and over 30 terrorists were killed during the operation,” an army official told AFP, adding that 27 off-duty soldiers who were passengers on the train were killed by militants, and one soldier killed during the operation,” the official said.

‘Entire nation deeply shocked’: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X,”Spoke with Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti who briefed me on the latest developments in the heinous terrorist attack on Jaffar Express. The entire nation is deeply shocked by this dastardly act and saddened by the loss of innocent lives—such cowardly acts will not shake Pakistan’s resolve for peace.”

“I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs. May Allah grant them the highest ranks in Jannah and bless those injured with a swift recovery. Dozens of the terrorists have been sent to hell,” Sharif added.

This is the first time the BLA or any insurgent group in the Balochistan province have resorted to hijacking a passenger train, although since last year, they have stepped up their attacks on security forces, installations and foreigners in different parts of the province.

In the past, the railway tracks in this area have been attacked by Baloch militants using rockets or remote-controlled bombs, and the BLA claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.