Pakistani troops have rescued at least 150 of the 450 passengers passengers from a train ambushed by insurgents in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Tuesday. At least 27 militants were killed.
The fate of the rest of the passengers held hostage isn’t yet known as soldiers continued to conduct operations in the mountainous terrain.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, said in a post on Telegram that it had taken 182 security personnel hostage.
The militant group’s spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agree to release jailed militants. There has been no comment from the government, which has rejected such demands in the past.
The BLA is a separatist group that has been waging an insurgency in Balochistan for years now. It is classified as a terrorist organisation by Pakistan as well as by the United States.
The BLA said the hostages and some captured members of the security forces were being guarded by suicide bombers on Wednesday.
The BLA has warned that the life of hostages would be at risk if the government does not negotiate.
Pakistan’s government was yet to confirm the number of security personnel taken hostage.
“The affected train is still on the spot and the armed men are holding passengers,” senior district police officer Rana Dilawar said.
Special forces and helicopters had been deployed to rescue the passengers, the officer added.
The insurgents ambushed the Jaffar Express on its way from Quetta to Peshawar. They detonated explosives on the railway tracks in Bolan district to force the train to stop, trapping it in a tunnel.
The driver was wounded and guards aboard the train were attacked, although the officials gave no details on how many there were or their fate.
The militants then opened fire, prompting security personnel on board to retaliate. The attackers used women and children as human shields during the confrontation, government officials claimed.
Shahid Rind, spokesman for the Balochistan government, described the assault as an “act of terrorism”. He said emergency services had been mobilised to aid the injured and secure the passengers but the challenging terrain was hampering rescue work.
At least 16 militants were killed as security forces launched a counter-operation, officials said. The number of civilian casualties was not clear but at least 10 people, including the train driver and security personnel, were reported dead.
Several passengers sustained injuries in the attack.
Jeeyand Baloch, a spokesperson for the BLA, claimed the group was prepared to release civilians if the government freed jailed militants. Pakistan authorities previously dismissed such demands.
Railway officials said the Jaffar Express was carrying nearly 500 passengers at the time of the attack. The rescued people, including 31 women and 15 children, were moved to nearby stations for safety while operations to recover the remaining hostages continued in the area around the Mushkaf Tunnel.
“People began hiding under the seats in panic. The militants separated the men from the women. They allowed me and my family to go because I told them I’m a heart patient,” a rescued passenger named Allahditta, 49, told the AFP news agency from the makeshift hospital at Mach railway station.
“I was on the train with my father and brother when militants took us hostage,” a 32-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, was quoted as saying by France 24. “They let me go but they are still there.”
The attack drew strong condemnation from Pakistan’s leaders. President Asif Ali Zardari denounced it as a “heinous act” against innocent civilians. “Those who attack passengers are against Balochistan and its traditions,” he said. “The Baloch nation rejects those who attack and take hostage innocent passengers, elders and children. No religion or society allows such heinous acts.”
The prime minister praised the security forces for their swift response and vowed that the attackers would be brought to justice.
“The beastly terrorists who carry out the cowardly attack do not deserve any concession,” Shehbaz Sharif said. “Terrorists are the enemies of the development of Balochistan.”
Targeting “innocent travellers” in the holy month of Ramadan was a “clear reflection of the fact that these terrorists have no connection with the religion of Islam, Pakistan and Balochistan,” Mr Sharif said.
“We will continue the war against the monster of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country. We will thwart every conspiracy to spread insecurity and chaos in Pakistan. We will never allow the evil intentions of anti-national elements to succeed. The entire nation stands by its security forces in this war against terrorism.”
The United Nations condemned the attack as well and secretary general António Guterres called for the immediate release of the remaining captives.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has long been a hub of separatist violence. It is home to several separatist groups, who accuse the federal government of unfairly exploiting the province’s rich natural resources like oil and minerals and routinely target natural resource extraction projects.
It is the first time BLA separatists have hijacked a train, though the group has attacked trains before. Estimates say the BLA has around 3,000 fighters.
In October last year, suspected BLA gunmen shot dead 20 miners and wounded several more. In August, they killed more than 50 people, prompting a security crackdown that left 21 militants dead. Those killed in the attack included 23 passengers from the eastern Punjab province who were fatally shot after being taken from vehicles in Musakhail.
The BLA has frequently targeted security forces and infrastructure as well as Pakistani civilians and foreigners, particularly Chinese workers involved in projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Security analysts suspect the group has strengthened its operational capacity by acquiring funding and weapons to escalate the insurgency. Abdullah Khan, a senior analyst at the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, said that the latest attack highlighted the group’s growing capability to disrupt security in the region.
Another analyst said the train attack and its focus on civilians could backfire.
“After failing to damage the Pakistan Army within Balochistan, BLA has shifted its targets from military to unarmed civilians. This may give them instant public and media attention, but it will weaken their support base within the civilian population, which is their ultimate objective,” said Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based independent security analyst.
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