Key Points:
- Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacks passenger train in Balochistan; 21 hostages and 4 security personnel killed.
- Pakistani military operation ends siege, killing all 33 attackers; rescues remaining passengers.
- Pakistan facing intensified threats from TTP, BLA, IS-K, and Afghan Taliban.
- Terror attacks in Pakistan rise sharply by 45% in 2025; security policy under scrutiny.
New Delhi: Pakistan is currently grappling with one of its most severe security crises in recent history, highlighted by a deadly train hijacking incident in Balochistan province. On Tuesday, separatist militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) seized control of the Jaffar Express train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, holding hundreds hostage and sparking a fierce response from security forces.
The dramatic hostage crisis began when heavily armed militants detonated explosives on railway tracks near a remote mountainous region in Bolan, forcing the Jaffar Express carrying over 400 passengers to halt abruptly. Gunmen stormed the train, killing the driver and taking numerous passengers hostage including Pakistani military personnel and law enforcement officers.
After a tense 36-hour standoff marked by gunfire exchanges and explosions, Pakistani security forces launched a decisive rescue operation involving elite Special Services Group commandos, Frontier Corps units, Army aviation helicopters, and Air Force support. Military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that all 33 militants involved were neutralized during the final assault. Tragically, the siege resulted in the deaths of at least 21 civilian hostages and four paramilitary soldiers.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack as a “heinous terrorist act,” expressing condolences to victims’ families and vowing that such incidents would not shake Pakistan’s resolve for peace. Interior Minister Tallal Chaudhry revealed that militants had used hostages as “human shields,” complicating rescue efforts significantly. Survivors recounted harrowing scenes of chaos and terror as militants opened fire indiscriminately and detonated explosives along railway tracks.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an outlawed separatist group demanding autonomy for resource-rich Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for this audacious attack. The BLA demanded immediate release of political prisoners held by Pakistan’s government within 48 hours, threatening further violence otherwise. This incident underscores the growing confidence and tactical sophistication of separatist groups in Pakistan.
This attack comes amid escalating violence across Pakistan involving multiple militant groups Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISK), Afghan Taliban factions, and Baloch separatists like BLA. According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 report released recently, terrorist-related fatalities in Pakistan have surged dramatically by 45% compared to previous years. The country has witnessed over 179 terror incidents since January alone, resulting in more than 255 security force casualties so far this year.
Experts attribute this deteriorating security environment partly to the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, which emboldened groups like TTP operating from Afghan soil. The TTP alone accounted for over half of Pakistan’s terrorism-related deaths last year. Similarly, insurgent groups like BLA have intensified attacks against Pakistani military installations, government infrastructure projects, and Chinese nationals working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiatives highlighted recently by February’s deadly suicide bombing at Gwadar port killing four Chinese engineers.
Pakistan’s existing military-centric counterterrorism strategy faces intense scrutiny following repeated failures to curb rising violence effectively. Analysts suggest Islamabad must adopt a comprehensive approach strengthening intelligence networks, dismantling terrorist financing channels, addressing socio-economic grievances fueling insurgencies especially in regions like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and leveraging international diplomatic pressure on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to curb cross-border militant activities.
As Pakistani authorities continue investigations into the deadly train hijacking incident and maintain heavy security deployment across sensitive areas in Balochistan province, questions remain whether Islamabad can successfully navigate this complex crisis involving multiple terrorist threats simultaneously.
