Wednesday saw the announcement by Pakistan of completion of the clearance operation in Balochistan, prompted by an attack on and hijacking of Jaffar Express train. All terrorists involved in the attack have been reported to be neutralized.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), described the complex operation. He stressed the challenging terrain, stating that the attack site was isolated and lacked proper road access.
During an interview to The Dawn, Chaudhry described the “final clearance operation,” ensuring that all hostages were rescued safely. He emphasized prudent operation, since terrorists were using hostages as a human shield. “Security force snipers engaged the suicide bombers, allowing the team to clear the train bogey by bogey,” he described.
When asked about the success of the operation and what happened to the terrorists, Chaudhry confirmed that all the 33 militants were eliminated. He also added that no passenger was injured in the operation, although 21 individuals unfortunately died due to the actions of the terrorists.
The operation also left four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel martyred, three of whom were martyred at the railway picket and one martyred in the operation. A bomb disposal team is conducting further checks on the train and the area as a matter of routine operating procedures, Chaudhry said.
The military spokesperson condemned the act of terrorism, and said no one should be able to use innocent citizens as victims of terrorism. “Anyone who commits such barbarism will be found and brought to court,” he said, and added that the Jaffar Express attack is a shift in the way this type of attack is responded to.
In a separate development, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack and stated they had killed 50 passengers in the hijacking. They described it as revenge for relentless military aggression, asserting that they murdered the hostages in retaliation after they were rebuffed in their attempts to negotiate for the release of political prisoners.
The BLA, the strongest ethnic armed group of Balochistan, stepped up its activities with new tactics to target Pakistan’s security forces and claim to fight for a larger share in the mineral resources of the region. They had issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the release of political Baloch prisoners, threatening retaliatory action if their demands were not met.
