In a statement, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which aims to free Balochistan from Pakistan, claimed to have taken over a train and held hundreds of people hostage. Six Pakistani military men were also slain, the BLA stated.
Railway officials told news agency Reuters that the Jaffar Express, carrying more than 400 passengers in nine bogies, was fired upon while traveling from Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan region to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, the BLA declared that if Pakistani forces launch an operation, the captives will be killed.
The BLA fighters blew up the railway tracks, forcing the train to stop and board it.
“Any military incursion will be met with an equally forceful response. So far, six military personnel have been killed, and hundreds of passengers remain under BLA custody. The Baloch Liberation Army takes full responsibility for this operation,” the BLA spokesperson said in the statement shared on social media.
According to a railway official, security forces had arrived at the event scene, which took place in the Mushqaf neighborhood in the Bolan district of Balochistan.
According to government spokesperson Shahid Rind, the government of Balochistan has declared an emergency and mobilized all of its institutions to address the issue.
Separatist terrorist organizations’ decades-long insurgency in Balochistan has resulted in repeated attacks against the Pakistani army, administration, and Chinese interests in the area, as well as urgent demands for a portion of the region’s mineral-rich resources.
Among the many ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the Pakistani government for decades, the BLA is the largest, claiming that it unfairly takes advantage of Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
Balochistan is the least lived-in province in Pakistan while being the largest by area, making up around 44% of the nation’s total area. Gwadar, one of the largest deep-sea ports in the world, is located in the province and is strategically important for regional and international trade routes, according to Pakistan.
Balochistan is located in Pakistan’s southwest and borders the Pakistani provinces of Sindh to the southeast, Punjab to the east, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the northeast. The Arabian Sea forms its southern border along with Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west.
