Balochistan standoff ends after all Jaffar Express hostages rescued

• Military spokesperson says 33 terrorists killed; four FC men martyred; clearance operation underway
• Says snipers took out suicide bombers guarding hostages, who then fled to safety
• Claims terrorists were in touch with ‘handlers in Afghanistan’ via satellite phones
• ISPR chief, information minister flay misinformation on social media, Indian media’s propaganda

ISLAMABAD / QUETTA: After a dramatic showdown with terrorists who had hijacked the Jaffar Express and taken hundreds of passengers hostage, the military announced the conclusion of its rescue operation on Wednesday night.

In separate statements, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Information Minister Atta Tarar announced the successful completion of the operation and the recovery of all hostages.

In his remarks, Lt Gen Sharif said that all remaining passengers had been rescued and the train — stranded near the Mashkaf Tunnel in the Bolan range — had been cleared of insurgents, with 33 terrorists killed.

Although he noted that there were around 440 passengers on board the train, he did not specify the total number of hostages that had been rescued.

However, a senior security official told Dawn that the rescue was carried out in phases. Just over a hundred were freed in the first phase, and 80 more hostages were shifted to Mach after being rescued in the second phase.

Around a dozen passengers, including two railway policemen, also managed to escape their captors and made it safely back to Quetta.

In all, 21 passengers lost their lives, while four FC personnel were martyred, the ISPR DG said.

Speaking to Dunya News, the ISPR chief said that army, air force, Frontier Corps and SSG personnel had taken part in the operation.

He said the area where the incident took place was quite difficult to access, being located far from road networks and settlements.

“The terrorists used hostages, including women and children, as human shields,” he added.

A group of armed men was patrolling the train and its surrounding areas, keeping an eye on the large numbers of passengers in their custody.

SSG commandos acted carefully to save the lives of hostages, and managed to free around 68 hostages after neutralising the remaining terrorists in a gun battle, a senior security official told Dawn, adding that almost all operations had been completed and forces were now in the clearance phase.

“These terrorists were in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone,” Lt Gen Sharif said.

“This incident changes the rules of the game, because these terrorists have no link to Balochistan or religion,” he said.

Drone footage

Lt Gen Sharif said the army, air force, Frontier Corps and SSG personnel had taken part and recovered the hostages.

ISPR also released black-and-white drone footage of the location where the train was stranded, showing the area where the operation was conducted.

In the footage, three separate groups of people can be seen huddled together by the side of the train.

Giving details, the ISPR chief said that the hostages had been off-loaded from the train and were sitting in separate groups — guarded by suicide bombers — making rescue efforts quite tricky.

Snipers took out the bombers, he said, allowing the hostages to escape to safety. He added that none of the hostages were harmed during the operation.

The passengers who had fled to the surrounding areas during the operation are also being rounded up, he said.

Bogie-to-bogie clearance of the train and the surrounding was being carried out by bomb disposal and other personnel, as per standard operating procedures, Lt Gen Sharif said.

‘Misinformation’

Criticising the flow of misinformation online and on social media amid the incident, particularly from India, Lt Gen Sharif said that this openly displayed the “nexus between the terrorists and their masters to the whole world.”

“Interestingly, some specific political elements in Pakistan also partake in such activities enthusiastically and activate their social media [teams], and instead of standing with the state, they can be seen creating baseless justifications and reasons for this horrible terrorist act,” he said.

“Sadly, some elements are sacrificing the national interest due to their lust for political power,” he said.

In his remarks, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar also condemned what he termed “propaganda spread by the Indian media”.

He criticized the Indian media for distorting facts and pushing a pre-planned narrative to mislead the public, and — without naming anyone — lashed out at people exploiting the unfortunate incident for their own agendas instead of prioritising Pakistan’s national interest, an apparent reference to the opposition PTI.

He said the language of some opposition leaders was the same as that used by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Indian media.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2025