Quetta- In a major security crisis, armed militants hijacked a passenger train in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, taking 182 hostages and allegedly killing 20 soldiers, according to a Reuters report.
The militant group, which has long sought independence for Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that any rescue attempts by Pakistan’s military would result in executions of passengers.
Railway sources confirmed that more than 400 passengers were on board the nine coaches of the Jaffar Express when it was attacked on Tuesday while travelling from the provincial capital of Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that six military personnel had been killed. It added that security personnel were among those taken hostage and warned of retaliation if security forces carried out an operation.
“Passengers include women and children,” he added.
Earlier in a statement, BLA said gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train.
“The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage,” the statement released to the media said.
The group “warned of severe consequences” if an attempt was made to rescue the hostages.
Pakistani sources who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity said an operation “to eliminate the terrorists is ongoing with extreme caution due to the difficult terrain”, adding that women and children were “being used as human shields”.
The incident happened around 1pm (0800 GMT) in rural Sibi district, near to a city station where it had been due to stop.
“The passengers are being held hostage, and the driver has been injured,” an official said.
The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – a more than 30-hour journey – at around 9am.
A senior police official from the area bordering Sibi said that “the train remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains”.
An emergency has been imposed at hospitals in Sibi, according to the government official.
The train service was resumed in October after a two-month halt due to a BLA-claimed attack on the track in Balochistan.
The province, which is rich in minerals and natural resources, has been home to a decades-long conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from Pakistan.
In recent years, there have also been attacks against Chinese interests and nationals working in projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $62bn development initiative. The attacks by the BLA and other groups have continued despite a number of military operations.
BLA ‘gaining strength’
In January, a security report by the Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS) warned that the situation in Balochistan was “alarming”.
It said there were more than 150 attacks last year, up by a staggering 119 percent compared with the year before.
Last month, at least 18 soldiers were killed in a BLA attack in Balochistan’s Kalat city.
Muhammad Shoaib, a security analyst and an academic, said BLA attacks had surged not just numerically but also in “lethality”.
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