The Pakistani security forces have dealt with a fatal firefight with separatist militants after a passenger train was hijacked in the volatile province of Balochistan of the country, as a result of which around 300 hostages were caught on board.
At least 27 militants have been killed as far as elite stroups try to free the hostages, who were confiscated when the train was ambushed on Tuesday while he went through a tunnel in the Ruige District Bolan.
Security officials say that they have saved more than 150 of the 450 passengers, including women and children, but warned that the remaining hostages are a serious risk, because the attackers reportedly wear suicide jackets with explosives.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed the responsibility for the attack and says it is willing to negotiate a prisoner -swap in exchange for the release of the hostages.
However, there has been no response from the Pakistani government and the tensions remain high because security forces surround the militants.
The train, identified as the Jafar Express, traveled from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar when this Tuesday was attacked.
After the attack, the train was left in a tunnel, in which it came under fire and the driver was injured, the police and railway officials said yesterday.
Militants reportedly blown up the track before they opened the fire on security personnel on board, according to the Shahid Rind government spokesperson.
A passenger, saved from a train after it was attacked by separatist militants, receives medical help at the train station of Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025
Passengers saved from the Peshawar Bound Jaffar Express train that was attacked by suspicious militants in Sibi, reach the train station in Quetta, the provincial capital of the Province Restive Balochistan, Pakistan, 12 March 2025
Paramilitary soldiers are a guard at a train station in the Sibi district of the province of Southwestern Balochistan on March 12, 2025, during a safety operation against militants a day after they hijacked a passenger train
Pakistani security officers are guardian after passengers saved from the Peshawar Bound Jaffar Express train that was attacked by suspected militants in Sibi
“This is an act of terrorism,” Rind said.
There were reports of heavy fire on the railroad, said a spokesperson for the government of Balochistan yesterday, but because of the difficult terrain in the area it was difficult for the authorities to reach the stage.
He added that an auxiliary train had been sent to the scene and that security forces were working in the area.
Several of those rescuers were brought to Quetta at the beginning of Wednesday, accompanied by security forces, where their family members were waiting for them.
“People were attacked … Passengers were injured and some passengers died,” said Muhammad Ashraf, who was on the train.
Several witnesses interviewed by Geo News, said they were asked by security personnel to stay low if there was gunfire.
A woman who said that her son was the passengers who was still held hostage, the provincial minister Mir Zahoor Buledi confronted when he visited the liberated passengers.
'If you cannot protect trains, you should not perform them. Please bring my son back, “she said.
Pakistan Railways has suspended all activities from Punjab and Sindh provinces to Balochistan until security agencies confirm that the area is safe, the local media reported on Wednesday.
The area where the train is stopped is a mountainous region that makes militants easier to have hiding places and to plan attacks.
The Minister of the Interior of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack and said that the government would not make any concessions to 'animals shooting on innocent passengers'
A soldier works to evacuate liberated train passengers at Mach's train station, which has been changed to an improvised hospital
Several witnesses interviewed by Geo News, said they were asked by security personnel to stay low if there was gunfire
The train, identified as the Jafar Express, traveled from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar when it was attacked
A paramilitary soldier is a guard at a train station in the Sibi district in the province of Southwestern Balochistan on March 12, 2025
Militants bombarded part of the railway track and stormed the train on 11 March in the afternoon in the province of Southwest Balochistan, where attacks are confused by separatists
But the hostage crisis has also drawn international conviction, with the UN Secretary General António Guternes calling for the immediate release of the hostages.
“This attack is deeply worrying. All hostages must be released unharmed, “said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Balochistan, the largest but least populated province of Pakistan, has long been a hotbed of separatist violence.
The resource-rich region, the home of valuable oil and mineral reserves, has been plagued by the uprising for decades.
Ethnic Baloch -Sparatists accuse the central government of exploitation and discrimination.
Trains in Balochistan are usually accompanied by armed guards due to the high threat of attacks.
In November, a suicide attack killed at a train station in Quetta – also claimed by a separatist group – 26 people, including security staff, railway staff and passengers.
A decades of old rebellion in Balochistan by separatist militant groups has led to frequent attacks on the government, the army and the Chinese interests in the region, so that requirements for a share are insisted in its resources.
The oil and mineral-rich Balochistan is the largest but also least populated province of Pakistan.
It is a hub for the ethnic Baloch -lessness of the country, whose members say they are confronted with discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
De Bla strives for independence for Balochistan. It is the largest of various ethnic rebellious groups that have fought the government of the South Asian nation for decades and say that it is unfairly operating the rich gas and mineral resources of Balochistan.
As the tense impasse continues, the Pakistani troops are confronted with a race by time to secure the release of the hostages and to prevent the situation from running in further bloodshed.
