Poonam Nath

Pakistan Passenger Train 'Jaffar Express' Hijacked by Rebel Group 'BLA'; holds 100 passengers Hostages

Digital Desk: In a statement, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which aims to free Balochistan from Pakistan, claimed to have taken over a train and held hundreds of people prisoner. The BLA also reported that six Pakistani military soldiers had been slain.

Railway officials told news agency Reuters that the Jaffar Express, carrying more than 400 passengers in nine bogies, was fired upon while traveling from Quetta in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan region to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, the BLA declared that if Pakistani forces conduct an operation, the captives will be executed.

As an explanation for the incident, the BLA fighters forced a train to stop and board it by blowing up railway tracks.

In a statement posted on social media, the BLA spokesperson said, "Hundreds of passengers are still in BLA captivity, and six military personnel have been slain. The operation is entirely the responsibility of the Baloch Liberation Army.

According to a railway official reporting the occurrence, security forces have arrived at the location in the Bolan district's Mushqaf area.

The Balochistan government has declared an emergency and mobilized all institutions to deal with the crisis, according to government spokesperson Shahid Rind.

A decades-long insurgency in Balochistan by separatist terrorist organizations has resulted in repeated attacks on the Pakistani government, army, and Chinese interests in the province, with demands for a share of mineral-rich resources.

The BLA is the largest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have fought the Pakistani government for decades, claiming that it unfairly exploits Balochistan's vast gas and mineral riches.