 "Why has Pakistan's Jaffar Express been a target of separatists and militants?")
The hostage crisis aboard the Pakistani’s Jaffar Express has reached its second day.
The train was heading from Quetta to Peshawar on Tuesday when it was hijacked by Baloch rebels around 1 pm.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has taken responsibility for the assault.
Authorities in Pakistan have claimed to have set free around 150 hostages and killed over two dozen Baloch militants. They say rescue operations are on.
But did you know that the Jaffar Express has consistently been a target of separatists and militants over the years?
Let’s take a closer look:
A series of attacks
The train was most recently attacked in February when an explosion left one passenger dead and a dozen others injured, as per Economic Times.
In January, at least 13 people were injured after a blast derailed the train in Bolan district – around 150 kilometres from Quetta.
As per India TV News, at least two bogeys were derailed near the Mach area in Balochistan’s Kachhi district.
As per Al Jazeera, the train was also attacked 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.
In February 2023, two persons were killed and four injured after a blast when the train, which was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, was crossing the Chichawatni railway station.
The blast occurred in bogie number six of the train’s economy class.
In fact, the train in 2023 was attacked twice in two months – and at the very same spot.
In 2018, passengers aboard the train had a narrow escape after Baloch rebels attempted to blow it up.
The militants relied on remote-controlled explosive devices.
Thankfully, the bombs went off when the train was still around 200 feet away.
According t_o 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 often a target for terror groups such as Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP), as per The Times of India.
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.
Islamabad has tried to normalise its colonial relationship with Balochistan through China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The BLA is one of several groups that has been targeting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
As per The Times of India, analysts peg the group’s strength at around 3,000 members.
The group has repeatedly targeting civilians and Chinese citizens working on CPEC projects.
These groups have been fighting the Pakistan government for decades.
They claim that the government is exploiting the region’s rich gas and mineral resources.
They accuse the central government of discrimination against the ethnic Baloch minority.
The want a free and independent Balochistan.
A brief look at Jaffar Express
According to India TV News, the Jaffar Express travels between Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It traverses around 1,630 kilometres in just over 30 hours.
The train comprises nine coaches.
It halts at Peshawar Cantt, Peshawar City, Nowshera Jn., Jahangira Road, Attock City, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Lala Musa Jn., Gujrat, Wazirabad Jn, Gujranwala, Lahore Jn., Lahore Cantt, Raiwind Junction, Pattoki, Okara, Sahiwal, Chichawatni, Mian Channun, Khanewal Jn, and others.
The train is named for Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali – a late prominent Baloch tribal leader and the uncle of ex- Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
The train was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on April 16, 2003.
It originally travelled from Quetta and Rawalpindi.
In April 2017, its route was extended to Peshawar.
With inputs from agencies
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