Train compartment suffers minor damage after unidentified gunmen fire rockets, but no injuries reported
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Jaffar Express in Balochistan’s Dera Murad Jamali, firing several shots and firing four rockets at the passenger train. However, security forces quickly responded and thwarted the attack, forcing the attackers to flee.
In the attack, several train compartments suffered minor damage, but no injuries were reported. Officials said the quick response by security personnel averted a major tragedy and ensured the safety of all passengers.
Following the attack, the train was halted at Dera Murad Jamali Railway Station while law enforcement agencies launched a large-scale search operation to track down the assailants. The railway authorities confirmed that the situation had been brought under control and security was tightened along the route.
This is not the first time that the Jaffar Express has been attacked. Earlier this year, the passenger train was briefly hijacked in the mountainous Bolan Valley and last September it was also targeted near the Quetta Railway Station.
Last month, an explosion hit a railway track in the Dasht area of Mastung district in Balochistan, targeting the Jaffar Express traveling from Peshawar to Quetta, injuring a dozen passengers.
Officials said the device was an improvised explosive device planted near the track, which detonated as the train passed. The explosion caused four bogies to derail and left several passengers, including women and children, injured.
Railway authorities confirmed that the blast severely damaged the track, forcing the suspension of train services in the area. An investigation has been launched, although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Read more: 21 passengers died before the clearance operation
Earlier in March, terrorists hijacked the Jaffar Express train with over 400 passengers in nine coaches. Before clearance operations could begin, the attackers martyred 21 passengers. The Jaffar Express was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar when it was attacked in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass.
They also detonated explosives in tunnels and on the tracks before opening fire, bringing the train to a halt in a mountainous area of Sibi district, Balochistan, which was difficult for security forces to access.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, no passengers were injured during the clearance operation conducted by security forces.
“All 33 terrorists have been sent to hell… Four Frontier Corps personnel embraced martyrdom during the clearance operation,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said in an interview with a private news channel. However, he added, before the clearance operation, 21 passengers were martyred by the terrorists.
“No one can be allowed to make innocent people of Pakistan victims of their barbarism in streets, trains, buses or markets because of their delusional ideology,” DG ISPR said. “Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this Jaffer Express incident is a game changer,” he added.
DG ISPR also confirmed that the attackers had been in touch with their handlers in Afghanistan, underscoring the cross-border nature of the operation.
He revealed that the militants used hostages, including women and children, as human shields and placed them in groups with suicide bombers among them. Security forces quickly neutralized the threat, with snipers taking out the suicide bombs, he added.
