Security fears derail Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul freight dream yet again

Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul was again delayed due to security reasons which was set to resume its services on Wednesday, according to an official.  

The freight train service, which was first launched with a trial run in 2009, passes through the restive Balochistan province on the way to Tehran. Since then, it has been alternatively operational and suspended for various reasons.

Divisional Superintendent Pakistan Railways in Karachi region, Mehmood ur Rehman Lakho, told the media that the service was not able to restart its services on Wednesday as authorities did not clear the security procedure and it again came to a halt.  

Balochistan has already suffered violent terror attacks this year from violent groups which has escalated the tensions and delayed various services as passenger trains on the Quetta route to other provinces have been regularly targeted by insurgents.  

More from World

India’s backyard in flux: From Gen-Z chaos in Nepal to civilian surrender in Pakistan Why ancient Hindu and Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan are under threat from vandalism, illegal occupation

This has led to the Railway authorities suspending specific passenger train services like the Jaffar Express because of security clearance delays.

Pakistan’s Railways Minister, Hanif Abbasi, and the Islamabad based Iranian ambassador Reza Amiri had recently announced that the freight service train would resume operations from December 31.

The service has faced operational, customs charges, infrastructure and security issues in the past and was suspended in 2011 and relaunched in 2021 to be suspended again in 2022.

A December 3 report by a think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), said Pakistan witnessed an over 25 per cent surge in overall violence in its security landscape ruining the physical landscape during the first 11 months of 2025 and was overwhelmingly concentrated in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces.  

Quick Reads

View All

Will ‘drill baby, drill’ politics go global in 2026? China’s LPG import figure has a hidden hint

India-US relations in Trump 2.0 — continuity, friction points, opportunities

Both these regions together account for over 96 per cent of all fatalities and 92 per cent of all incidents of violence recorded through January to November 2025.

“KP was the worst-hit region, suffering nearly 68 per cent of the total violence-linked fatalities, and over 62 per cent of the incidents of violence, followed by Balochistan, accounting for over 28 per cent of the total fatalities and over 30 per cent of the incidents of violence”, it said.