Day after Pakistan’s military declared an end to the Jaffar Express hostage crisis after a two-day standoff, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has refuted the claim, asserting that it still holds hostages and remains engaged in battle with security forces.
The Pakistan army on Wednesday night stated that all 33 attackers were killed, and more than 340 train passengers were freed after a fierce operation in southwest Balochistan, where the train had been ambushed a day earlier. However, the BLA accused the military of misleading the public, according to a Reuters report. It said the hostages claimed to have rescued by the Pakistan forces were actually released by the BLA.
Also read: Pakistan train hijack: All hostages freed, 33 BLA militants killed, claims army
“Now that the state has abandoned its hostages to die, it will also bear responsibility for their deaths,” BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan where he reviewed the security situation and expressed solidarity with the victims of the attack. He condemned the rising threat of militancy, calling it an existential danger to Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s peace and prosperity are linked with eradicating terrorism. There will be no prosperity without peace,” he said at a high-level meeting.
Death toll figures have varied, with the military reporting that “21 innocent hostages” and four soldiers were killed in the operation. However, a railway official in Balochistan said that 25 bodies were retrieved from the scene and transported to the nearby town of Mach.
“Deceased were identified as 19 military passengers, one police and one railway official, while four bodies are yet to be identified,” an anonymous railway official told AFP.
A senior local military officer overseeing the operation confirmed these details.
Passengers who survived the ordeal shared chilling testimonies of the massacre. Muhammad Naveed, who managed to escape, said the attackers initially reassured hostages of their safety before executing them.
“They asked us to come outside, saying we will not be harmed. When around 185 people came outside, they chose people and shot them down,” Naveed said.
Also read: ‘Gunmen went in and shot them all’: Survivors recall 36-hour Pakistan train hijacking ordeal
Another survivor, Babar Masih, a 38-year-old Christian laborer, recalled how his family was forced to flee through rugged terrain to find safety.
“Our women pleaded with them, and they spared us,” he said. “They told us to get out and not look back. As we ran, I noticed many others running alongside us.”
