Train compartments suffered minor damage after unidentified gunmen fired rockets, but no casualties were reported
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Jaffar Express in Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan, firing several shots and launching four rockets at the passenger train. However, security forces quickly responded, foiling the assault and forcing the attackers to flee.
During the attack, several compartments of the train suffered minor damage, but no casualties were reported. Officials said the quick response of security personnel helped avert a major tragedy and ensured the safety of all passengers.
Following the attack, the train was stopped at Dera Murad Jamali station, while law enforcement agencies launched a large-scale search operation to trace the attackers. Railway authorities confirmed that the situation had been brought under control and security had been increased along the route.
This is not the first time the Jaffar Express has been attacked. Earlier this year, the passenger train was briefly hijacked in the mountainous Bolan Valley, and in September last year it was also targeted near Quetta railway station.
Last month, an explosion hit a railway track in Dasht area of Balochistan’s Mastung district, targeting the Jaffar Express traveling from Peshawar to Quetta and injuring around a dozen passengers.
Authorities said it was an improvised explosive device placed near the railroad tracks, which detonated as the train passed. The explosion derailed four bogies and injured several passengers, including women and children.
Railway authorities confirmed that the explosion had seriously damaged the railway line, forcing the suspension of train services in the area. An investigation was opened, but no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Learn more: 21 passengers died before the mine clearance operation
In early March, terrorists hijacked the Jaffar Express train carrying more than 400 passengers in nine bogies. Before mine clearance operations could begin, the attackers martyred 21 passengers. Jaffar Express was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar when it was attacked in Dhadar area of Bolan Pass.
They also detonated explosives in tunnels and on the tracks before opening fire, stopping the train in a mountainous area in Balochistan’s Sibi district that is difficult for security forces to access.
According to Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, no passengers were injured during the clearance operation carried out by security forces.
“The 33 terrorists were sent to hell… Four Frontier Corps personnel embraced martyrdom during the clearance operation,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said in an interview to a private news channel. However, he added, before the mine clearance operation, 21 passengers were martyred by the terrorists.
“No one can be allowed to make innocent Pakistanis victims of their barbarity on streets, trains, buses or markets due to their deceptive ideology,” DG ISPR said. “Anyone who does this, I say this very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this Jaffer Express incident changes the rules of the game,” he added.
The DG ISPR also confirmed that the attackers had been in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan, highlighting the cross-border nature of the operation.
He revealed that militants used hostages, including women and children, as human shields, placing them in groups, which included suicide bombers. Security forces quickly neutralized the threat, with snipers eliminating the suicide bombers, he added.
