 "At least seven people have been injured in a powerful explosion on the Jaffar Express in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Image Courtesy: @alpha_defense/X")
The Jaffer Express, which travels between Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is one of Pakistan’s most important trains. But it also has earned the dishonour of being a death trap.
That’s because it keeps getting attacked continuously by rebels situated in Pakistan; in fact, in this year alone, it has been attacked seven times, the latest being on Tuesday when a powerful explosion struck the Jaffar Express near the Sultankot area close to the Sindh–Balochistan border.
Here’s what happened today (October 7) to the train, who’s behind it, and how the train has become a target of militants in Pakistan.
Jaffer Express hit by explosion, coaches derailed
At least seven people have been injured after an explosion struck the Jaffar Express near the Sultankot area, close to the Sindh-Balochistan border on Tuesday. The explosion resulted in the derailing of seven coaches, with one overturning, and causing injuries to passengers.
According to officials at the spot, the blast was reportedly caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the tracks.
The Baloch rebel group, Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was targeted because personnel of the Pakistani Army were travelling in the train. “The train was attacked at a time when personnel of the occupying Pakistani army were travelling on board. As a result of the explosion, several soldiers were killed and injured, and six coaches of the train derailed,” the BRG said in a statement.
“The BRG claims responsibility for this attack and declares that such operations will continue until the independence of Balochistan,” it added.
Meanwhile, rescue teams have arrived at the spot to rush the injured to hospitals nearby whereas investigators are also at the scene. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah condemned the incident. According to Radio Pakistan, Shah sought a report of the incident from the Sindh police inspector general.
Baloch Republican Guards take responsibility for attack
After the Jaffar Express was attacked, the Baloch Republican Guards claimed to be behind it. But who is a part of this rebel group?
It is one of the many Baloch rebel groups that operate from Balochistan and is part of the Baloch Raaji Aajohi Sangar alliance, which also comprises the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and Balochistan Liberation Army-J.
According to data available, the BRG was formed in 2012 following the killing of Baloch leader Bakhtiar Domki’s wife, daughter, and driver. According to Mehrab Baloch, a human rights activist, the Baloch Republican Guards is active in areas like Nasirabad, Bolan and Kech.
Before targeting the Jaffar Express, one of its most famous attacks was firing a grenade at the city of Dera Murad Jamali in February 2022, which killed one person and injured many others. In December 2023, it also claimed responsibility for blowing up a natural gas pipeline in Rahim Yar Khan District, Punjab province of Pakistan. The pipeline was supplying gas from Balochistan’s Sui gas field to different areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The incident resulted in suspension of gas supply to several areas of Punjab.
Series of attacks on Jaffar Express
Tuesday isn’t the first time that the Jaffar Express has been attacked. In fact, in this year alone, it has been targeted multiple times.
Prior to Tuesday’s attack, a dozen-odd people, including women and children, were injured in a bombing attack on the same train in the Spizend area of Mastung in Balochistan on September 24. At the time, officials said that six bogies of the train coming from Peshawar derailed.
But that wasn’t the end of it. On August 10, four people were injured when an improvised explosive device derailed six coaches of the Peshawar-bound Jafar Express in the Mastung district. This attack came exactly six days after gunmen, belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), fired five bullets at the train’s pilot engine near Kolpur.
In June, another explosion in Sindh’s Jacobabad district derailed four coaches of the Jaffar Express, though no casualties were reported.
But the deadliest attack came on March 11 when the Jaffar Express was hijacked in Bolan, resulting in the deaths of 21 passengers and four security personnel. Security forces later killed 33 militants in a retaliatory operation. The BLA had taken responsibility for the attack, with passengers saying they had never witnessed anything like it before.
The siege lasted for over 30 hours, with eyewitnesses, who survived, saying it was horrifying. Ishaq Noor, one of the passengers, told BBC Urdu: “We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next.”
Also, in July, the train derailed in Sindh province’s Sukkur with initial reports stating that an explosion had occurred. But, Pakistan’s ministry of railways later confirmed that it was due to a technical fault.
The train has also been attacked previously in November 2023 when a suicide bomber blew himself up at Quetta railway station. The incident left 26 people dead and over 40 injured including women and children, as per The Times of India.
Why the train is vulnerable to attacks
The Jaffar Express has been particularly vulnerable to attacks perpetrated by Baloch rebels. According to Al Jazeera, security personnel from the Pakistani forces – mostly from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – often use the train to commute. Which is why it is the perfect target for the BLA as well as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Pakistan army has a brutal track record in Balochistan – the country’s largest and least populated province. Human rights activists have accused the Pakistan Army of disappearing thousands of Baloch youths.
With inputs from agencies