All passengers held hostage by Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) rebels in southwestern Pakistan have been rescued, a senior army official said on Wednesday, adding that 33 militants were killed during the high-risk military operation. The siege, which began on Tuesday afternoon, also claimed the lives of 28 soldiers, 27 of them off-duty personnel travelling on the train and one soldier killed during the rescue.
The train, Jaffar Express, was carrying over 450 passengers when it was ambushed in the remote Bolan Pass area of Balochistan province, around 160 km from Quetta. The militants used explosives to derail the train near a tunnel between Gudalar and Piru Kunri before storming the carriages. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility and released a video showing the blast and gunmen emerging from surrounding mountainous terrain.
According to military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif, the terrorists initially used passengers, including women and children, as human shields, which delayed the rescue operation. Around 100 hostages were freed on Tuesday, while the rest were rescued on Wednesday during the final clearance phase.
The operation, conducted by the Army, Air Force, Frontier Corps and Special Services Group commandos, was executed with extreme caution to prevent further civilian casualties. Snipers first neutralised suicide bombers, followed by a compartment-by-compartment sweep of the train. Officials said no passengers were harmed during the final assault.
The army said the terrorists were in constant contact with their handlers in Afghanistan via satellite phones, pointing to a foreign nexus behind the attack. Security forces are continuing area clearance operations, with bomb disposal squads inspecting the site. Authorities are also working to trace passengers who fled during the chaos.
Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the forces for successfully ending the siege and eliminating all militants. He called the attack a "tragic and heartbreaking incident" and condemned the use of women and children as shields. "Terrorists are a burden on this land, and their facilitators will be dealt with an iron hand," he said.
The BLA has been behind a string of attacks targeting security personnel and ethnic communities it accuses of exploiting Balochistan’s resources. The army warned that the train attack marks a shift in tactics and vowed to pursue all those involved.
