Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Pakistan security forces successfully freed 346 hostages after a deadly train hijacking by a terrorist group in the country’s first-ever passenger train seizure. All 33 terrorists involved in the attack were killed during the military operation.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, when armed terrorists hijacked the Jaffar Express as it passed through Kacchi District in Balochistan province.
Muhammad Kashif, a senior official with Pakistan Railways, stated that the Jaffar Express was carrying more than 450 passengers from Quetta, in southwestern Pakistan, to Peshawar in the northwest when it was attacked.
The Rescue Operation
The hostage crisis, orchestrated by the terrorist group, began with an explosion on the railway tracks that forced the Jaffar Express to stop in a remote area of Balochistan. More than 450 passengers were taken hostage, and a gunfight broke out after the explosion stopped the train.
Before the military operation began, 21 passengers got killed by the terrorist. Additionally, four soldiers lost their lives in the rescue effort.
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, stated that security forces responded immediately, eliminating all 33 terrorists, including suicide bombers, while successfully rescuing the hostages in a phased operation.
“All 33 militants involved in the hijacking were killed in a successful 24-hour military operation,” said Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif, head of the Pakistan Army’s information wing, as reported by Anadolu on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
According to NBC, the Pakistani army successfully rescue 178 hostages on Wednesday (March 12), in addition to the 168 it recovered Tuesday (March 11).
The Atttack Motives
According to Reuters, the train hijacking in Pakistan was orchestrated by Baloch Liberation Army, the largest separatist group in resource-rich Balochistan province. The militant army has also claimed responsibility for the attack.
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During the hijacking, the militants threatened to execute hostages within 48 hours unless the Pakistani government released Baloch political prisoners, activists, and individuals allegedly abducted by the military.
Some of the attackers were reportedly wearing suicide vests and sat among the hostages, making the rescue operation highly risky.
The BLA has long waged an insurgency against the Pakistani government, seeking what it calls the “liberation” of Balochistan. The group claims that the province was forcibly integrated into Pakistan after the end of British colonial rule in unified India in 1947.
(Raidi/Agung)
