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→Hijacking
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== Hijacking == | == Hijacking == | ||
At 9 a.m. on 11 March 2025, the Jaffar Express passenger train set off from Quetta, heading towards Peshawar over a distance of approximately 1,600 kilometers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hussain |first1=Abid |title=Deadly Pakistan train hijack: What happened, and what's next? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/11/deadly-pakistan-train-hijack-what-happened-and-whats-next |access-date=12 March 2025 |agency=Al Jazeera English |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The train carried around 450 passengers, including military personnel.<ref name="operation">{{cite web|date=12 March 2025|title=Pakistan continues operation to free 250 hostages from hijacked train|work=Reuters|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/pakistan-forces-continue-operation-to-free-hundreds-from-hijacked-train|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312210413/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/pakistan-forces-continue-operation-to-free-hundreds-from-hijacked-train|archive-date=12 March 2025|access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> Prior to the hijacking, members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) sabotaged the train tracks, causing the train to halt in a mountainous region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Packed passenger train in Pakistan attacked by Baloch separatists, possibly hijacked in bloody assault |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-train-hijack-balochistan-liberation-army-claims-terrorist-attack/ |website=CBS News |access-date=11 March 2025 |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The hijacking occurred about 157 kilometers from Quetta and roughly 21 kilometers west of Sibi, specifically inside Tunnel No. 8, situated between Pehro Kunri and Mushkaf stations.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="jazeera" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Rescue operation for hostages underway after terrorists attack train in Balochistan: state media |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1897237/rescue-operation-for-hostages-underway-after-terrorists-attack-train-in-balochistan-state-media |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=Dawn |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The insurgents detonated explosives on the tracks before opening fire on the train. | At 9 a.m. on 11 March 2025 ([[Indian National Calendar|INC]]: 20 saura Phālguna 1946), the Jaffar Express passenger train set off from Quetta, heading towards Peshawar over a distance of approximately 1,600 kilometers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hussain |first1=Abid |title=Deadly Pakistan train hijack: What happened, and what's next? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/11/deadly-pakistan-train-hijack-what-happened-and-whats-next |access-date=12 March 2025 |agency=Al Jazeera English |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The train carried around 450 passengers, including military personnel.<ref name="operation">{{cite web|date=12 March 2025|title=Pakistan continues operation to free 250 hostages from hijacked train|work=Reuters|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/pakistan-forces-continue-operation-to-free-hundreds-from-hijacked-train|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312210413/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/pakistan-forces-continue-operation-to-free-hundreds-from-hijacked-train|archive-date=12 March 2025|access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> Prior to the hijacking, members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) sabotaged the train tracks, causing the train to halt in a mountainous region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Packed passenger train in Pakistan attacked by Baloch separatists, possibly hijacked in bloody assault |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-train-hijack-balochistan-liberation-army-claims-terrorist-attack/ |website=CBS News |access-date=11 March 2025 |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The hijacking occurred about 157 kilometers from Quetta and roughly 21 kilometers west of Sibi, specifically inside Tunnel No. 8, situated between Pehro Kunri and Mushkaf stations.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="jazeera" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Rescue operation for hostages underway after terrorists attack train in Balochistan: state media |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1897237/rescue-operation-for-hostages-underway-after-terrorists-attack-train-in-balochistan-state-media |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=Dawn |date=11 March 2025}}</ref> The insurgents detonated explosives on the tracks before opening fire on the train. | ||
The train was escorted by only a small contingent of police and paramilitary personnel. An eyewitness reported that “hundreds” of separatists surrounded the train tracks during the attack. The defenders engaged in combat with the separatists, managing to resist for over an hour and a half. However, they eventually ran out of ammunition, leaving them unable to continue their defense against the overwhelming assault.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Correspondent |first=Our |date=2025-03-13 |title='We fought until our bullets ran out' |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2533990/we-fought-until-our-bullets-ran-out |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref> | The train was escorted by only a small contingent of police and paramilitary personnel. An eyewitness reported that “hundreds” of separatists surrounded the train tracks during the attack. The defenders engaged in combat with the separatists, managing to resist for over an hour and a half. However, they eventually ran out of ammunition, leaving them unable to continue their defense against the overwhelming assault.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Correspondent |first=Our |date=2025-03-13 |title='We fought until our bullets ran out' |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2533990/we-fought-until-our-bullets-ran-out |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref> | ||
During the hijacking, separatists equipped with suicide vests boarded the train and systematically separated passengers into groups based on gender, checking their identification cards. Notably, the attackers refrained from harming elderly individuals or women. Due to the isolated mountainous location of the incident, the fate of the hostages remained uncertain in the immediate aftermath. Shahid Rind, the spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, indicated that the challenging terrain hindered authorities' ability to swiftly access the area. In response to the attack, Pakistan Railways temporarily suspended all train operations between Balochistan and the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, as well as vice versa, to ensure safety and security. | During the hijacking, separatists equipped with suicide vests boarded the train and systematically separated passengers into groups based on gender, checking their identification cards. Notably, the attackers refrained from harming elderly individuals or women. Due to the isolated mountainous location of the incident, the fate of the hostages remained uncertain in the immediate aftermath. Shahid Rind, the spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, indicated that the challenging terrain hindered authorities' ability to swiftly access the area. In response to the attack, Pakistan Railways temporarily suspended all train operations between Balochistan and the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, as well as vice versa, to ensure safety and security. | ||
== Responsibility == | |||
The [[Baloch Liberation Army]] (BLA) claimed responsibility for a recent attack, with spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch stating that over 50 personnel from law enforcement agencies, including soldiers from the Pakistan Army who were reportedly on leave, were killed alongside 214 hostages.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 15, 2025 |title=Pakistan: ATF personnel killed, six others injured in IED blast in Quetta |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/pakistan-atf-personnel-killed-six-others-injured-in-ied-blast-in-quetta20250316065835/ |access-date=March 15, 2025 |publisher=[[Asian News International]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="remaining">{{cite web |last1=Yusufzai |first1=Mushtaq |last2=Jett |first2=Jennifer |last3=Aggarwal |first3=Mithil |date=12 March 2025 |title=Pakistan rescues remaining hostages after separatist militants kill 100 people in train hijack |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-train-militant-separatist-balochistan-peshawar-hostages-rcna195971 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312184654/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-train-militant-separatist-balochistan-peshawar-hostages-rcna195971 |archive-date=12 March 2025 |access-date=12 March 2025 |work=NBC News}}</ref> | |||
On 14 March 2025 ([[Indian National Calendar|INC]]: 23 saura phālguna 1946), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry alleged that the BLA insurgents received support from "''handlers in Afghanistan''", implicating a mastermind based in India. He asserted that these militants were coordinated under the guidance of individuals in [[Afghanistan]], who communicated with them using [[Satellite Phone|satellite phones]]. The [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] of Pakistan echoed this assertion, emphasising that facilitators from Afghanistan played a role in organising the attack while also placing blame on India for its involvement.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 March 2025 |title=Pakistan's Foreign Office Accuses India Of Being Behind Balochistan Train Hijack |work=ABP News |url=https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-s-foreign-office-accuses-india-of-being-behind-balochistan-train-hijack-1757388 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313121157/https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-s-foreign-office-accuses-india-of-being-behind-balochistan-train-hijack-1757388 |archive-date=13 March 2025 |access-date=13 March 2025}}</ref> | |||
[[Chief Minister of Balochistan]], Sarfraz Bugti, claimed to possess "''solid evidence''" regarding India's complicity in the incident but refrained from providing specific details.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 March 2025 |title=Pakistan accuses India of sponsoring militant terror group after train hijacking |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/14/pakistan-accuses-india-of-sponsoring-militant-terror-group-after-train-hijacking |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314195739/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/14/pakistan-accuses-india-of-sponsoring-militant-terror-group-after-train-hijacking |archive-date=14 March 2025 |access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref> Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi further accused India of efforts to destabilize Pakistan, particularly in relation to the [[China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]] (CPEC). On 18 March 2025 ([[Indian National Calendar|INC]]: 27 saura Phālguna 1946), Munir Akram, Pakistan's [[Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations|Permanent Representative to the United Nations]], addressed the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]], arguing that Afghanistan had not taken sufficient measures to counter terrorist groups and asserting that incidents like the train hijacking were part of broader efforts to undermine stability in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 March 2025|title=Pakistan urges UNSC to prioritise matter of terrorism from Afghan soil|work=Dunya News|url=https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/874022-pakistan-urges-unsc-to-prioritise-matter-of-terrorism-from-afghan-soil|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319132718/https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/874022-pakistan-urges-unsc-to-prioritise-matter-of-terrorism-from-afghan-soil|archive-date=19 March 2025|access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref> | |||
== International reactions == | == International reactions == | ||