Pakistan Train Hijack: Baloch militants claim 50 hostages dead as govt officials say attack 'ended'

Militants in Pakistan have claimed responsibility for the deaths of 50 hostages following the hijacking of a passenger train in the country’s southwestern region, reported Reuters citing sources.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government have said that though the attack on the train has ended, some hostages have been killed, reported AFP. A spokesperson for the Pakistan Army said that 21 passengers and 4 soldiers were killed in

The Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express, which was hijacked on Tuesday by a group of the Baloch Liberation Army, was travelling through a remote area when the attack took place. The assailants, identified as separatist insurgents, seized control of the Jaffar Express, which had over 400 passengers on board at the time of the attack.


Since the hijacking, officials reported that 190 hostages were rescued, while around 30 militants have been killed so far.

However, Government officials have not yet provided an official update on the status of the hostages or the number of hostage casualties, though security forces have reportedly launched an operation to secure their release.

Troops, backed by helicopter teams, are engaged in rescue efforts though the process has been delayed due to geographical difficulty and concerns for hostage safety, a Pakistani minister said on Wednesday.

"Security operation in Pakistan train hijack complicated, delay due to remote location, concern for safety of hostages...Security operation in Pakistan train hijack conducted very carefully to avoid harm to hostages," Pakistan's Junior Interior Minister told Geo TV in an exclusive interview.

He also said that the Pakistani government have gathered intel that the militant group is contact with its handlers, the primary of whom is from Afghanisthan.

The BLA is the most powerful among several insurgent groups operating in the resource-rich border region between Afghanistan and Iran. Once considered a low-level insurgency, the militants have recently escalated their activities, adopting new tactics that have resulted in higher casualties and more targeted attacks on Pakistan.