Pakistan train hijack: Baloch group claims responsibility, threatens to execute hostages

BALOCHISTAN (Pakistan): The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), in a statement on Tuesday, said that it has taken as hostages passengers of the Jaffar Express train that it seized in Pakistan earlier today, adding that it will execute the captives if Pakistani forces launch an operation.

The Jaffar Express, with some 400 passengers on board in nine bogies, was on its way from Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the BLA opened fire on it, injuring the driver and taking the passengers as hostages.

In a statement, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said that they have “completely repelled the Pakistani military’s ground assault following the seizure of Jaffar Express. After intense clashes, Pakistani ground troops were forced to retreat, but airstrikes from helicopters and drones continue unabated”.

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“The BLA issues a final warning: if the aerial bombardment is not halted immediately, all 100+ hostages will be executed within the next hour. Majeed Brigade, STOS, Fateh Squad, and ZIRAB Unit fighters are actively engaged in countermeasures, and any further military incursion will have catastrophic consequences”, the statement read.

“Over 100 enemy personnel remain in BLA custody. The occupying forces still have a chance to cease airstrikes and save their men, or else the Pakistani military will bear full responsibility for the execution of all hostages”, the statement by Jeeyand Baloch, spokesperson for the Baloch Liberation Army read.

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Pakistan local media, earlier today, reported that the Jaffar Express train was on its way from Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it came under intense firing in Balochistan. Over 450 passengers and staff are feared to have been taken hostage, local media reported.

The Balochistan government has imposed emergency measures and all institutions have been mobilised to deal with the situation, government spokesperson Shahid Rind said, according to the Dawn.

As per ARY News, the driver of the train sustained severe injuries. Pakistan’s Samaa TV said that according to Raiway officials, no contact has been established with the 450 passengers and staff aboard the 9-coach Jaffar Express, the train departed Quetta at 9 am. (ANI)