English
In Pakistan’s Balochistan province, the separatist rebel organisation Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has hijacked the Jaffar Express train full of passengers. Even after more than 18 hours, the Pakistani army has failed to rescue the people on the train from the BLA’s control. According to Pakistani officials, there were more than 400 passengers on the Jaffar Express train from Quetta to Peshawar. As the train entered a tunnel in Balochistan, the Baloch rebels attacked it and took control of the train. 214 hostages are currently reported to be in the custody of Baloch armed rebels.
The Baloch Liberation Army has demanded the release of Baloch political prisoners in exchange for the hostages. For this, a 48-hour ultimatum has been given. The group has said that if the demand is not met, 5 hostages will be killed every hour after the deadline ends and this process will continue till the end. Balochistan Post has quoted BLA as saying that the group currently has 214 hostages in its custody.
After the train hijacking incident, the Pakistan Army launched an operation to free the hostages. According to a Radio Pakistan report, Pakistani security forces have freed 104 hostages from the clutches of extremists. It quoted security sources as saying that among the rescued hostages, there are 58 men, 31 women and 15 children. It also claims that 16 Baloch extremists have been killed.
However, the Baloch Liberation Army issued a statement denying the Pakistani Army’s claims of releasing the hostages and called it Pakistan’s propaganda. The BLA said that women and children have been released by it because it follows international rules. Along with this, the group confirmed the operation of the Pakistani Army and said that it has foiled it and all the Baloch fighters are safe. The BLA also claimed that now most of the hostages are Pakistani security forces personnel.
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