Tazeen Akhtar
The facts were shrouded in a mystery on a major terrorist attack in Pakistan from morning to evening on 11 March 2025 only a couple of days after big attacks in Qalat, Dera Ismael Khan and Bannu. The visuals from a viral video of the incident has been used to draw the pictures published here that indicate the severity of the attack.
The official sources in Islamabad and Quetta are confirming only a driver injured in firing by terrorists in what some other sources are claiming to be hostage of a passenger train in Bolan area of the worst terrorists hit province of Balochistan on today morning.
There were reports on some media and social media throughout the day , that Balochistan Liberation Organization , an outlaw terrorist org, has attacked “Jaffer Express” in Bolan, taking hostage the whole train with more than 400 passengers. A large number of the passengers consist of security forces personnel.
The unconfirmed reports were being shared that the terrorists had martyred 6 soldiers of Pakistani security forces in the attack but it was only a one sided story until the Interior Ministry of Pakistan confirmed the incident to a little extent only.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement in the evening in which he condemned the firing in which the train driver and some other persons are injured (in the words of the Press Release from Interior Ministry).
Spokesperson Balochistan Gov Shahid Rind confirmed only when reached by a media , that the train was fired upon near Mashkaf area between Quetta and Bolan where the train was crossing a tunnel.
Interestingly, the federal minister of railway assumed his office only a day before this attack conducted. Mr. Hanif Abbasi, the newly appointed minister has not issued any statement till late in the evening despite his very good connections with media persons.
In the meanwhile, the statement of another minister , Mr Aleem Khan surfaced but he just reiterated the same mostly trumpeted sentences of condemnation only.
The train started its journey from Quetta to Peshawar 9 AM in the morning. Shahid Rind shared that an emergency has been declared in Sibbi, the nearby town, Hospital.
BLA claimed responsibility for the attack. The statement from BLA was released to some media outlets including Aljazeera (The channel attaches more than due importance with BLA in its reports).
BLA added that security personnel were among those taken hostage and warned of retaliation if security forces carried out an operation.Pakistani security officials have not confirmed it so far. But carefully speaking, at least 03 Soldiers are feared to be martyred while many passengers are critically injured.
Balochistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had issued a threat alert regarding a “planned attack” by the BLA, many days ago, according to a letter seen by CNN. The department asked “all concerned authorities” to “take extraordinary precautions and safety measures to prevent any occurrence.”
In Nov 2024, a terrorist attack on Quetta railway station left over 25 people dead and dozens more injured, including several with serious injuries.
Complete Statement of BLA
The spokesperson of BLA has claimed, over 100 military personnel are in our custody
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) operatives today derailed and captured the Jaffar Express in a coordinated operation at Mishkaf in Dhadar area of Bolan. Six military personnel were killed while resisting, while over 100 passengers were taken into custody by the BLA.
The hostages include serving personnel of the Pakistani army, police, ATF, and ISI, who were going to Punjab on leave. The BLA clearly warns that if any military action is taken by the occupying forces, all the hostages will be killed.
During this operation, BLA commanders have released women, children and Baloch passengers, while all the remaining hostages are serving personnel of the occupation army.
The operation is being led by the BLA’s Fidai unit, Majeed Brigade, which is fully supported by Fateh Squad, STOS, and Zarab.
Multiple Attacks in Balochistan – What , Where, How, Who, Why – by Tazeen Akhtar
