The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement by its spokesman Jeeyand Baloch threatened that the hostages would be executed if Pakistani forces carried out an operation.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) which demands independence for Balochistan from Pakistan in a statement said it hijacked a train and held more than 180 passengers, the majority of whom were Pakistani soldiers, hostage. Several Pakistani military personnel were also killed, the BLA added.
The BLA demanded that the Pakistani government free all Baloch political prisoners and “forcibly disappeared persons” within 48 hours. Jaffar Express, which had more than 450 passengers travelling in nine bogies, was travelling from Quetta in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it was targeted, railway officials informed news agency Reuters.
“More than 450 passengers on board are being taken hostage by gunmen,” Muhammad Kashif, a senior government railway official in Quetta, said in an AFP report earlier. AFP also reported, citing security officials, that 80 train passengers who were taken hostage had been rescued by Pakistani soldiers.
“Security personnel have managed to rescue 80 hostages, 43 men, 26 women, and 11 children, from the terrorists,” the security sources added, stating that “efforts are underway to secure the release of the remaining passengers safely”. The BLA, in a statement by its spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, stated that the hostages would be murdered if Pakistani forces undertook an operation.
The BLA guerrillas destroyed the railway lines and made the train halt within a tunnel, following which they invaded it.
All military intrusions will be confronted with an equivalent forceful measure. Six troops have been reported killed so far, and several hundred passengers are still in BLA captivity. The Baloch Liberation Army assumes complete responsibility for this operation,” the BLA spokesperson declared in the statement that was posted on social media.
Security personnel had arrived at the scene of the accident, in the Mushqaf sector of the Bolan district of Balochistan, a railway spokesperson said.Emergency steps have been taken by the Balochistan government and all institutions have been activated to address the situation, government spokesperson Shahid Rind said.
