PR Explainer

CWA # 1614
PR Explainer
Militants hijack a train in Balochistan: Where, Who and Why

D Suba Chandran
12 March 2025
Photo Source: AFP

On 11 March 2025, militants targeted a train in Balochistan province and took more than 400 passengers hostage. At the time of writing this note on 12 March, according to Radio Pakistan, security forces were engaged in a military operation, in which 155 passengers were released and 27 militants killed.
 
The Radio Pakistan quoted security forces saying suicide bombers are using people as shields and are positioned close to the hostages. According to Radio Pakistan, "The suicide bombers have taken women and children hostage at three different locations. Due to the presence of women and children with the suicide bombers, the operation is being conducted with utmost caution.”
 
Where?
The hostage-taking took place in the Bolan district of Balochistan. The train - Jaffar Express (named after Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali, a Baloch leader from the Jamali tribe who was close to Jinnah) runs between Quetta in Balochistan and Peshawar in KP. The Jaffar Express chugs across Sindh and Punjab provinces via Sibi, Jacobabad, Rohri, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Nowshera.
 
The train crosses the Bolan pass, consisting of multiple tunnels, where the militant attack took place between Sibi and Quetta. The Bolan Pass connects the Sibi and Quetta districts in Balochistan and historically was one of the two major routes (along with the Khyber Pass) that connected the Indian subcontinent with Afghanistan and the rest of the world in the west and north. The British built the rail route during the 1880s and served as a strategic link connecting Karachi with Afghanistan. The Bolan valley in the Toba Kakar mountain range is spread along the Bolan river, connecting Quetta with Sibi.
 
The hostage-taking had taken place in Bolan Pass when the train was passing a tunnel 150 km away from Quetta. The train was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar, carrying 450 passengers; according to media reports, militants armed with rockets fired at the engine, injuring its driver, hijacked the train, checked the identities of passengers, took some of them and fled. At the time of writing this note, it is not clear how many have been taken hostage by the militants. According to a news report in the News, quoting security sources, “the suicide bombers are holding women and children at three different locations, using them as human shields.” According to Dawn, 155 passengers have been rescued.
 
Who?
According to the local media reports, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a Baloch militant group, has taken responsibility for the attack and taking hostages. According to a Dawn news report: "The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack and claimed to have taken a large number of people hostage. The group also claimed that they had freed a number of people — including women and children — but these reports could not be independently verified.”
 
The BLA is one of the many Baloch organizations operating in the province. Other organizations include the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). The Baloch militant groups, primarily the BLA, have been targeting the security forces, infrastructural projects, Chinese presence and assets, and also non-Baloch migrants working in Balochistan.
 
An annual report published by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) in January 2025 notes the increased attacks by the BLA, the BLF, and the Majeed Brigade.
 
Why?
First, the militancy in Balochistan. During the last few years, there has been an increase in militant attacks in Balochistan. According to “Pakistan Security Report 2024,” published by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) in January 2025, during 2024, there was a “surge in terrorist attacks and casualties in 2024.” The report says, “The province experienced an 84% rise in attacks compared to the previous year, with 202 terrorist incidents that claimed 322 lives and injured 534 others. In contrast, 229 people were killed in such attacks in the province in 2023. Attacks by various Baloch insurgent groups, primarily the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), saw a staggering 119% increase, accounting for 171 incidents in the province.”
 
Based on the above data, one could identify a trend in militant attacks in Balochistan, which has been on the increase. Another report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), providing data for February 2025, also reflects a similar trend during this year. According to its data, there were more militant attacks in Balochistan during February 2025; there were 30 plus attacks resulting in the killing of 50 plus people, more than half of them being civilians.
 
Second, there has been an increase in BLA’s operations. According to the PIPS annual report, “there has been a notable evolution in the operational strategy and capabilities of Baloch insurgent groups. The BLA, in particular has transitioned from conducting low intensity, small-scale attacks several years ago to executing more sophisticated and high profile operations today.”
 
Third, targeting non-Baloch migrants who are coming to Balochistan in search of work. During the last few years, there have been selective targeting of passengers, as a strategy by the militant groups across Pakistan. In 2024, during August, militants stopped buses and trucks in Musakhail district, offloaded the passengers, checked their identities and killed 23 of them. Most of them were from Punjab. The BLA took responsibility for the attack. A similar attack took place in April 2024 in the Noshki district that witnessed the killing of nine civilians from Punjab. Targeting of passengers has been a trend in the militant targets from Gilgit to Gwadar for sectarian and secular reasons. According to the above PIPS annual report, attacks on non-Baloch migrants "represent a calculated effort by Baloch insurgents to exacerbate tensions between Balochistan and Punjab."
 
Fourth, passengers – either by train or bus – are soft targets for the militants. Given the vast geography of Balochistan, it will not be an easy task for the police and military to provide security. Besides, the security forces are stretched across Pakistan, and the militant groups take advantage of it.

About the author
D Suba Chandran is a Professor and the Dean of the School of Conflict and Security Studies, NIAS.


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