‘Held Breath Through Firing’: Passengers Describe Pakistan Train Hijack Scenes

Passengers onboard the Jaffar Express in Pakistan’s Balochistan, have spoken of “doomsday scenes”. “We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next,” Ishaq Noor, who was on board during the hijack, told the BBC.

400 passengers were travelling from Quetta to Peshawar on Tuesday when the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked the train and took some as hostages. 

Per the military, 190 passengers have been freed and 27 militants killed. The rescue operations are ongoing. However, the BLA has warned of “severe consequences” if any attempt is made to rescue the remaining hostages.

According to reports, security officials have said that some militants have taken a few passengers up the mountainous area.

Muhammad Ashraf who was travelling to visit family from Quetta to Lahore said, “There was a lot of fear among the passengers. It was a scene of doomsday,” he said. He and his wife tried to protect their child by shielding amidst gunfire. “If a bullet comes our way, it will hit us and not the children,” he said.

“The attackers were talking to each other in Balochi, and their leader repeatedly told them to ‘keep an eye’ particularly on the security personnel to make sure that [the attackers] do not lose them,” Mushtaq Muhammad, a passenger in the train’s their carriage said, and called the attack “unforgettable”.

Starting Tuesday evening, the militants started releasing some Balochistan residents, women, children and elderly passengers.

On Wednesday, the BBC saw wooden coffins being loaded at the Quetta railway station. An official said they were being carried for possible casualties.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it is “gravely concerned” by the train hijack.

“We strongly urge all relevant stakeholders to forge an urgent rights-based, pro-people consensus on the issues faced by citizens in Balochistan and to find a peaceful, political solution,” it said in a statement on X.