Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif visits Balochistan after insurgents attack train

Pakistan train hijack: PM Shehbaz Sharif on March 13, 2025, visited the Balochistan province to review the law and order situation and to express solidarity following the Jaffar Express hijacking incident in which 21 civilians, four soldiers were killed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday (March 13, 2025) visited the Balochistan province to review the law and order situation and to express solidarity with the people there following the Jaffar Express hijacking incident in which 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed.

Mr. Sharif's visit comes a day after security forces killed all 33 Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who on Tuesday hijacked the Jaffar Express.

Also read | Armed militants attack train in Pakistan; 80 hostages freed

He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Nawabzada Mir Khalid Magsi and others.

The incident occurred when the train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers, was ambushed by BLA militants near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in a tunnel. They opened fire on the train and held the passengers hostage, prompting the security forces to initiate an operation that lasted two days.

Announcing the completion of the operation, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Wednesday said the armed forces took part in the action against militants who "remained in contact with their facilitators and mastermind based in Afghanistan via satellite phone".

Units from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Special Services Group (SSG), Army, and Frontier Corps (FC) took part in the operation, the Army's spokesperson said.