Pakistan on Fire and Its Effects on India

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The Jaffar Express, carrying around 400 passengers in nine coaches, was going from Pakistan’s Quetta to Peshawar when Baloch Liberation Army militants derailed it using explosives and hijacked it on Tuesday in the country’s restive Balochistan.

IMAGE: A passenger, who was rescued from a train after it was attacked by terrorists, receives medical aid at the Mach railway station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025. Photograph: Reuters
Soon after the explosion, the BLA militants started firing at the train indiscriminately.

The security forces so far rescued 190 passengers from the hijacked train and killed 30 Baloch rebels, as they continued to battle heavily-armed insurgents for a second day on Wednesday.
There was a huge explosion and firing, a scene that can never be forgotten, said Mushtaq Muhammad as he recounted the moment when Baloch militants attacked the Jaffar Express.

“After that, the firing started. The firing continued for an hour. It was a scene that can never be forgotten," he said.

Mushtaq said that the firing gradually stopped and the armed men entered the bogies.

“They started checking the identity cards of some people and separated some of them. Three militants were guarding the doors of our coach. They told the people that they would not say anything to civilians, women, old people and Baloch people,” he said.

Mushtaq also said these people (attackers) were talking to each other in Balochi and their leader was repeatedly telling them to keep a special eye on the security personnel and they should not get out of hand. Noor, who was in coach number seven of the same train, was travelling from Quetta to Rawalpindi with his wife and two children.

“The explosion was so intense that the windows and doors of the train shook and one of my children, who was sitting near me, fell down,” he said.

“The firing must have lasted for about fifty minutes... During this time, we were not even breathing, not knowing what would happen,” Noor said.

 

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Pakistan’s security forces say they have rescued 190 passengers from a train that was hijacked as it was travelling on Tuesday from Quetta, the provincial capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan, to Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Fighters belonging to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group seeking Balochistan’s secession from Pakistan, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistani officials have described their continuing efforts as a “complex operation” against the group, which targeted the Jaffar Express train as it was passing through tunnels near Sibi city, about 160km (100 miles) from Quetta. Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had killed 27 fighters. At least 10 passengers, including the train driver, were also killed, they said. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the casualty count provided by the officials.

BLA fighters released several passengers. Security officials confirmed that a group of passengers made their way safely to a smaller station near the site of the attack, as a military operation to rescue others continued.

 

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Pak train hijack: 21 passengers, 4 soldiers killed; all hostages freed​

Twenty-one passengers and four paramilitary soldiers were killed by militants holding hostages after seizing control of a train in Balochistan, a Pakistani army general said on Wednesday.

IMAGE: A passenger, who was rescued from a train after it was attacked by terrorists, receives medical aid at the Mach railway station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025. Photograph: Reuters
Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif told Dunya News TV that security forces killed all 33 militants present at the scene.
"The armed forces successfully concluded the operation in the (Wednesday) evening by killing all terrorists and rescuing all passengers safely,” Lt Gen Sharif said.
He said that 21 passengers were killed by the terrorists when they attacked the train on Tuesday. He added that four paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers were also killed in the incident.
"The forces killed all 33 terrorists and secured the release of hostages,” he said.

Citing security sources, state-run Radio Pakistan confirmed that all terrorists present at the scene have been killed in the military operation.
The number of the passengers, who were killed at the beginning of the attack, was being determined, it added.
During the clearance operation, extreme caution and skill were demonstrated to save innocent lives, it said.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the Geo News that 70-80 militants were involved in the attack on the train. He also warned against the fake news, saying that no mobile internet network was working in the area and all video clips being circulated on the media in Pakistan and elsewhere were fake.
He said that the passengers included civilians, government employees and security personnel.

IMAGE: Rescued passengers sit at the Mach railway station. Photograph: Reuters
Earlier in the day, officials said that some of the militants wearing vests loaded with explosives had formed groups of women and children and forced them to sit near them. Due to the presence of women and children with the suicide bombers, the operation was being conducted with utmost caution, they added.
A security source earlier said that around 30 people who sustained injuries had been sent to hospitals. He said two drivers in the main engine and eight security personnel were killed during the operation.
There was a huge explosion and firing, a scene that can never be forgotten, said Mushtaq Muhammad as he recounted the moment when militants attacked the train. Mushtaq was among the passengers rescued from the train, according to BBC Urdu service.
Ishaq Noor, who was travelling with his wife and two children, in coach number seven of the same train, said the explosion was so intense that the windows and doors of the train shook and one of my children, who was sitting near me, fell.
Seeing the firing and bullets hitting the coaches, Ishaq pulled one of his children under him while his wife pulled the other child under her so that "if a bullet hits us, the children will be saved."
"The firing must have lasted for about fifty minutes... During this time, we were not even breathing, not knowing what would happen."
Mushtaq said that the firing gradually stopped and the armed men entered the coaches.
"They started checking the identity cards of some people and separated some of them. Three militants were guarding the doors of our coach. They told the people that they would not say anything to civilians, women, old people and Baloch people," he said.
Ishaq said that in the evening, the attackers told the passengers that they were releasing Baloch, women, children and elderly passengers.
This is the first time the BLA or any insurgent group in the Balochistan province have resorted to hijacking a passenger train, although since last year, they have stepped up their attacks on security forces, installations and foreigners in different parts of the province.
The security source said some of the militants were using satellite phones to remain in touch with their handlers.
The Pakistan Railways have set up an emergency desk at the Peshawar and Quetta Railway stations as frantic relatives and friends try to get some information about their loved ones on the train.
Pakistan Railways had resumed train services to Peshawar from Quetta after a suspension of more than a month and a half.
The US Embassy in Islamabad strongly condemned the attack on the train and the hostage-taking of passengers.
"We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this horrific act. The Pakistani people deserve to live free from violence and fear," it said.
The US will remain a steadfast partner of Pakistan in its efforts to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens, it added. "We stand in solidarity with Pakistan during this difficult time."
"We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Balochistan on 11 March. Our deepest condolences go the people of Pakistan and families of victims. As the situation is still unfolding, we express our profound concern for the hostages and call for their immediate release," EU Ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka said in a post on X.
Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist attacks over the past year.
In the past, the railway tracks in this area have been attacked by Baloch militants using rockets or remote-controlled bombs, and the BLA claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
In October last year, Pakistan Railways announced the restoration of train services between Quetta and Peshawar after a suspension of more than a month and a half. A month later, at least 26 people were killed and 62 injured after a suicide blast ripped through a Quetta Railway Station.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups frequently carry out attacks targeting security personnel, government projects and the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the oil and mineral-rich province.

 

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Nearly 350 hostages were rescued at the end of a deadly standoff between Pakistan's military and armed militants who hijacked a train in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan. The incident, which began Tuesday, left dozens dead. At least 35 militants were killed in the rescue operation, the security source added.Some eyewitness even state that they have seen over 100 bodies of the hostages. This claim is yet to be verified. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group active in the restive and mineral-rich Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Around 450 passengers were on the Jaffer Express en route from Balochistan’s capital Quetta to Peshawar in the north, when militants opened “intense gunfire” as the train traveled through a tunnel early in its journey, according to officials. Pakistan’s military then launched an operation to confront the attackers who used “women and children as shields,” according to security sources not authorized to speak to CNN.
Passenger Mohammad Ashraf told CNN he saw more than 100 armed individuals on the train and that no harm was inflicted on women and children.
One rescued woman described scenes of chaos following the attack, likening it to the “Day of Judgement.” She told she fled gunfire and walked for two hours to reach safety. Survivor Arslan Yousaf recalled the terrifying moment the hijacking began. “As soon as the explosion happened, armed men stormed the train. They had launchers, guns, and other weapons, and they immediately started firing – shooting directly at people,” he told Reuters. “They kept shouting, ‘We will kill anyone who doesn’t come out.’ Then, things took a darker turn. They began checking everyone’s ID cards - Punjabis, Sindhis, Baloch. They separated us into groups. Sometimes, they took soldiers outside and executed them. Other times, they targeted specific individuals. If they had a grudge against someone, they shot him on the spot.” There were number of soldiers going on transfer or leave in that train who were shot point blank.
Muhammad Tanveer, who was held hostage for two days, told Reuters the hostages didn’t have any food and had to resort to drinking water from the train’s washroom. “Then, last night (Wednesday), our army arrived. By evening, they had cleared everything. They gave us protection, served us food and water, and took care of the situation,” he said.
The security sources accused the militants of being in contact with handlers in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s military and government have long accused Afghanistan of providing sanctuary to militant groups, something its Taliban leaders have denied.

Passengers who were rescued from the train after it was attacked by separatist militants sit at Mach railway station in Balochistan, Pakistan, on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Tuesday’s kidnapping is an audacious moment for a separatist insurgency that seeks greater political autonomy and economic development in the strategically important and mineral-rich mountainous region. But it also highlights the ever-deteriorating security situation there – one that Pakistan’s government has been grappling with for decades. Balochistan’s population – made up mostly of the ethnic Baloch group – is deeply disenfranchised, impoverished, and has grown increasingly alienated from the federal government by decades of policies widely seen as discriminatory.
An insurgency there has been ongoing for decades but has gained traction in recent years since the province’s deep-water Gwadar port was leased to China, the jewel in the crown of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure push in Pakistan. The port, often touted as “the next Dubai,” has become a security nightmare with persistent bombings of vehicles carrying Chinese workers, resulting in many deaths.

Some analysts said Tuesday’s attack marked an escalation in the sophistication of attacks by the insurgents. The “larger point that the Pakistani state is not grasping … is that it’s not business as usual anymore,” said Abdul Basit, a senior associate fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.




“The insurgency has evolved both in its strategy and scale,” he added, saying Pakistan’s approach to tackle the Baloch militants “seems to have run its course.” “Instead of revising its counterproductive policies, it is persisting with them, resulting in recurrent security and intelligence failures,” Basit said. The BLA has been responsible for the deadliest attacks in Pakistan in the past year. A suicide bombing by the BLA at a train station in Quetta killed more than two dozen people last November. The previous month, it claimed responsibility for an attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers, resulting in two deaths.

In the wake of Tuesday’s attack, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to “continue to fight against the monster of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country.” In a statement, he said the “terrorists’ targeting of innocent passengers during the peaceful and blessed month of Ramadan is a clear reflection that these terrorists have no connection with the religion of Islam, Pakistan and Balochistan.”

Analysts say such attacks need urgent attention from the federal government. “Tuesday’s attack has gained global attention and it will worry China, which has its investments in the province – more than any other state,” Basit said. “A major reset of existing security paradigm is required in Balochistan.”

 

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Abu Qatal, Hafiz Saeed aid and LeT terrorist, in Pakistan(Social media X)
Lashkar terrorist Abu Qatal was reportedly killed in Pakistan. Qatal is said to be a close aide of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and commander of the Khureta launchpad in PoK.

However, Mint could not independently verify the reports.

Zia-ur-Rehman, alias Abu Qatal, was behind the 2023 Rajouri attack that killed seven people. He also played a key role in the June 9 attack on a bus carrying pilgrims returning from Shiv Khori temple in Reasi As many as 10 people were killed in the attack. Abu Qatal was among the terrorists charge-sheeted by the NIA in February 2024. Abu Qatal was killed by unknown assailants, India Today reported on Sunday. Qatal was under heavy protection from the Pakistan Army, with both Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists and plainclothes Pakistani military personnel assigned to his security, India Today reported.
Sources told India Today that Abu Qatal was travelling with his security guard in the Jhelum area around 7 pm when unknown attackers opened fire.
The assailants fired 15 to 20 rounds, killing Abu Qatal and one of his security guards on the spot. Another guard was critically injured.
As per the report, the attack took place near Zeenat Hotel, close to Dina Punjab University in the Jhelum area.
According to NIA, Abu Qatal was a Pakistani national. The agency said Abu Qatal had come to India in 2002-03 and was active in the Poonch Rajauri range, along with other terrorists.
Investigations have revealed that the other charge-sheeted accused, Nisar, had come in contact with Abu Qatal during the latter's stay in India. He had remained in touch with Abu Qatal even after the latter's return to Pakistan.

 

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A total of 90 Pakistani army personnel were killed after the attack on Army convoy of buses carrying army soldiers. A car laden with explosives hit the convoy. The suicide bomber was also killed. This is claimed by BLA but Pakistan army says only 5 soldiers were killed.

 

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Abu Qatal was the mastermind of the 2023 Rajouri terror attack that resulted in the death of seven people and injured 13 others.​

Faisal Nadeem, alias Abu Qatal, a key mastermind behind the attack on a pilgrims' bus that killed nine and injured 41 in Reasi district on June 9 last year, and the killing of seven people in Rajouri district's Dangri village on January 1, 2023, was shot dead on Saturday night in the Dina area of Punjab, Pakistan.
Abu Qatal was reportedly the nephew and close associate of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.(X/ Jaipur Dialouges)

Qatal, was the nephew of 26/11 mastermind and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed.
He was traveling with his security guard in Dina area of Jhelum district around 7 pm when they came under a barrage of gunfire from unknown attackers..
The attack killed him and one of his security guards on the spot, while another guard was critically injured.
Abu Qatal, the chief operational commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was responsible for executing attacks in J & K. He masterminded some of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the Jammu region, particularly in Reasi and Rajouri districts.
On January 1, 2023, terrorists targeted Dangri village, opening fire on villagers and killing five innocent civilians. As they fled, the attackers left behind an improvised explosive device (IED), which claimed the lives of two minors the next morning.
On June 9, 2024, nine people were killed, and 41 others injured when a bus full of pilgrims came under terrorist fire and plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. The bus, heading to the Shiv Khori cave temple, fell off the road after being attacked.
In February last year, the NIA had charge-sheeted Qatal in connection with the attack, along with four others.
Those charged included three Pakistan-based handlers of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Apart from Qatal, the two other handlers were identified as Saifullah and Mohammad Qasim.
According to the NIA, the attacks on Indian soil were carried out under orders from the three handlers.
Qatal was known by several other aliases, including Ali, Habibullah, Nouman, and Mohamad Qasim. Qatal played a key role in recruiting and deploying Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from across the border, targeting civilians. His main targets included the minority community in the union territory, along with the security personnel.