Armed militants have seized a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and are holding 450 passengers hostage, according to AFP news agency.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that its fighters struck the railway track with explosives before taking control of the train in the remote Sibi district, the news agency wrote, citing a statement issued by the group.
A senior railway official in Quetta, the capital of the province, has confirmed the seizure of hostages, according to AFP. The train driver is said to have been injured.
In a purported BLA statement circulating on social media, the group claims that 11 military personnel have been killed. The militants have reportedly threatened to kill all the hostages if the Pakistani authorities launch an operation to free them.
The group claims to have released women, children, and Baloch passengers from the train, and says it has kept 100 hostages who are active-duty personnel of the Pakistani military, police, the country’s anti-terrorism force and intelligence officers.
BLA has also claimed that it has repelled a Pakistani military ground assault, but helicopters and drones continue to conduct airstrikes. It has demanded an immediate halt to the air bombardment, warning that otherwise the hostages will be executed within an hour.
BLA is an armed separatist group that has long sought independence for the Balochistan province from the central government in Islamabad. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and two other countries: the United Kingdom and the United States.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province; it is home to key mining projects and the ethnic Baloch minority.
The insurgents frequently target police and military forces in the region, as well as foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals assisting in the construction of Pakistan’s infrastructure projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Apart from the separatists, Islamist militants are known to operate in the area.
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The train in question is reported to be the Jaffar Express, a passenger train operated daily by Pakistan Railways between Quetta and Peshawar.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused neighboring Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for BLA fighters, particularly before the Taliban took control of the country. However, there is no evidence that the new government in Kabul is cracking down on the separatists.
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