Pakistan train attack live updates 27 militants killed 155 passengers rescued after attack on jaffar express in balochistan

Pakistan train attack live updates 27 militants killed 155 passengers rescued after attack on jaffar express in balochistan

Train carrying around 500 people in southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Tuesday. Radio Pakistan has reported that 27 militants have been killed so far and 155 passengers have been rescued. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for derailing the train, asserting that they had seized control, killed 30 security personnel, and taken 214 passengers, including active-duty personnel, as hostages, according to the Reuters reports. However, their claims have not been independently verified.

Militant demands: The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the separatist militant group, which claimed responsibility for the attack issued a 48 hours ultimatum, stating that they would execute the hostages if Baloch political prisoners, activists and missing persons abducted by the Pakistani military are freed. It also warns that if military intervention continues, all hostages will be executed and the train will be completely destroyed. However, officials from the provincial government and railway authorities did not immediately confirm the hostage situation. The train was targeted while traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, when it got trapped in a tunnel and gunmen opened fire, killing the train driver, according to Reuters.

Government response: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying security officials were ‘repelling‘ the militants. Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, strongly condemned the attack, calling the militants ‘beasts’ for targeting innocent passengers. In response to the attack, the Balochistan government implemented emergency measures to manage the crisis. Security forces engaged in an exchange of fire with the militants as efforts were made to contain the situation and rescue the passengers, Reuters reported. The region has long been plagued by an insurgency led by separatist groups such as the BLA, who claim that the government exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources without fair distribution to the local population.