Pakistani train hijacking ends in bloodbath

LondonThe Pakistani army freed nearly 350 people from a passenger train on Wednesday. kidnapped on Tuesday by pro-independence militants from the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to a spokesman for the armed forces. During the assault, 33 rebels of the so-called Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were killed, although some sources, such as CNN, claim the number was 35, while the Associated Press reports that the number was 50. The Jaffer Express rescue operation.

Around 450 passengers were traveling in the convoy traveling from the capital of Balochistan, Quetta, to Peshawar, in the north of the country, when the militants opened "intense fire" as the train passed through a tunnel at the beginning of the journey. At the time of the kidnapping, the guerrillas threatened to execute the hostages, 214 seconds they said, if the government did not agree to exchange them for BLA prisoners within 48 hours. Although the Pakistani army ultimately prevailed, the BLA's train attack demonstrates, once again, that the insurgency in the province is growing in strength and carrying out high-profile operations. On Tuesday, nearly 80 people, mostly women and children, were released by the attackers.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province and also its least populated. It borders Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the north, the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the south. Its capital is Quetta. An arid and mountainous region, Balochistan is rich in natural resources such as gas, coal, and minerals. It is also a strategic area due to the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, key to the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Considered the crown jewel of the country's infrastructure strategy, it is also a key strategic area for the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Belt and Road From Beijing to Pakistan, Gwadar is frequently the target of attacks targeting vehicles transporting Chinese workers, causing numerous fatalities.

Separatists have been fighting since the early 2000s for greater autonomy—or even independence—from Islamabad. However, they demand that more of the province's many natural resources remain and benefit the region. Over the years, the BLA has gained strength, to the point that some analysts now compare the group to the Pakistani Taliban, due to the level of threat it poses to the country. Of the 21.7 million people living in Balochistan, the vast majority are from the Baloch ethnic group, who live deeply marginalized and impoverished, and are increasingly alienated from the federal government due to decades of policies considered highly discriminatory.

A security nightmare

The BLA has regularly attacked Pakistani security forces and has also targeted civilians in the past, including Chinese workers involved in multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. It has also carried out attacks outside Balochistan, including in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Although the government claims it has significantly reduced violence, attacks in Balochistan have not abated. Islamic militant groups also operate in the province.

Aside from its long-standing rivalry with India, Pakistan also maintains a tense relationship with Iran, which contributes to insecurity in Balochistan. The two countries share a 900-kilometer border that is largely unmonitored, allowing free movement of smugglers and insurgent groups. Both governments accuse each other of harboring or tolerating them. The corridor initiative with Beijing has injected billions of dollars into Pakistan, but at the same time has fueled anger among the Baloch minority, who accuse Islamabad of exploiting their country's resources while neglecting local communities.

"The insurgency has evolved both in strategy and the scale of its actions," Abdul Basit, a senior research associate at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told CNN. "Rather than reviewing its counterproductive policies, [Islamabad] is persisting, resulting in recurring security and intelligence failures," Basit said.

In fact, the BLA has been responsible for the deadliest attacks in Pakistan over the past year. A suicide bombing by the ISIS at a Quetta train station killed more than two dozen people in November 2024. In the wake of Tuesday's attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to "continue fighting the monster of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country." In a statement, he declared that "the fact that the terrorists targeted innocent passengers during the peaceful and blessed month of Ramadan is clear proof that they have no connection with the religion of Islam, Pakistan, or Balochistan."

"The attack has captured global attention and will worry China, which has investments in the province, more than any other state," Basit told CNN in the same statement. "A major readjustment of the existing security paradigm in Balochistan is required." The Pakistani military believes the ISIS has contact with armed groups in Afghanistan. But the Taliban denies this.