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TeaThe Jafar Express – which runs 1,000 miles between Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwest and Quetta in its restive southwest – is becoming increasingly popular. the most dangerous in the country train.
In 2025 alone, it was bombed, hijacked, shot at, and derailed at least seven times, making it a prime target of terrorist violence.
At least seven people were injured on Tuesday when a powerful explosion rocked a train, derailing four of its coaches near Sultan Kot railway station in the latest incident. Sindh province.
The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), This was the seventh attack this year on a passenger train that connects insurgency affected province of Balochistan With the rest of Pakistan.
Police said about five pounds of explosives were used in the device, which exploded on the tracks as the train headed from Peshawar to Quetta.
“At least seven people were injured, one of them seriously, when four bogies overturned as a result of an explosion near Sultan Kot railway station this morning,” a senior police officer said. arab newsThe injured were taken to the hospital, where everyone’s condition is now said to be stable.
Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar ordered an immediate investigation. ” “TheTerrorists were involved in damaging the railway track Will be brought to justice soon,” he said, promising a “thorough investigation” to identify the culprits.
By evening, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), a armed separatist groupTook responsibility for the bombing.
In a statement, the group said: “The train was attacked when soldiers of the occupying Pakistani army were traveling on the train. As a result of the explosion, several soldiers were killed and injured, and six carriages of the train were derailed.” The group said that “such operations will continue till independence.” Balochistan“Firstpost reported.
The most devastating attack occurred in March, when Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants hijacked a train with about 400 passengers on board in the rugged Bolan mountain range.
The standoff lasted for more than 30 hours before security forces attacked the train, killing 33 militants, but the attack cost the lives of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers.
In August, an IED blast derailed six coaches in Balochistan’s Mastung district, injuring four passengers. Just a few days earlier, gunmen had fired on the pilot engine of a train near Kolpur – an attack for which the BLA claimed responsibility. In the same month, another bomb blast took place near Sibi railway station, in which the train had a narrow escape.
In June, a remotely detonated explosive derailed four coaches in Jacobabad, Sindh. Such is the frequency of attacks, the derailment at Sukkur in July was initially suspected to be caused by an explosion, with officials confirming it was due to a technical fault.
The Jaffar Express is important for connecting Balochistan to the rest of the country and is frequently used by soldiers and railway personnel, making it a must-try train. Recurring targets for extremist groups,
Pakistan’s Federal Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi held India responsible for the repeated attacks.
He said, “The terrorists who repeatedly targeted the Jafar Express are actually representatives of India who is not ready to digest its defeat during Operation Bunyan Al Marsous.” dawn, In an apparent reference to Pakistan’s retaliation against its hostile neighbor during the conflict in May.
India and Pakistan were engaged in a military standoff After 26 people killed in Pahalgam attack were killed. “These cowardly actions cannot stop Pakistan Railways from running this train.”
Although India has not yet issued any statement on Pakistan’s allegation on the recent attack, it had earlier rejected the claim.
Mr Abbasi praised the “brave drivers, guards and other crew members” who continued to work on the service despite repeated attacks, adding: “I also salute our passengers who continue to travel on this train, sending a message to cowardly terrorists that Pakistanis are a brave nation that will never surrender.”
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah condemned the attack and sought an immediate report from the police. He directed that the injured passengers be provided with the “best possible medical assistance”. dawn,
The Jafar Express passes through the most volatile corridor of Pakistan. Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the center of a long-running insurgency led by armed separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army, the Baloch Republican Guards and the Baloch Liberation Front.
The groups claim to be fighting for independence from Pakistan and accuse Islamabad of exploiting Balochistan’s natural gas, mineral and coastal resources and impoverishing its 15 million residents.
The province is vital for trade and housing the China-backed Gwadar deep sea port – a key node of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative linking western China to the Arabian Sea.
For Baloch insurgents, the Jafar Express is a symbol of the state’s presence and reach in the region. Security personnel, government officials and businessmen often use the train to travel between Quetta and other cities, making it an attractive target.
according to Al JazeeraThe BLA – one of the largest and most active separatist groups – has expanded its attacks on gas pipelines and security convoys to public infrastructure in December 2023, in an apparent attempt to disrupt Pakistan’s economic and strategic connectivity projects.
This group was also known as Majeed Brigade. Designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States In August this year, restrictions on any financial or material support for its operations were tightened.
The Baloch Republican Guards, which claimed Tuesday’s attack, is part of a loose coalition of insurgent organizations called the Baloch Raji Ajohi Sangar.
It was formed in 2012 after the killing of family members of a Baloch leader and has since carried out dozens of bombings in Sindh and Balochistan, including an attack on a natural gas pipeline in Rahim Yar Khan district in 2023, which disrupted supplies in parts of Punjab.
Human rights activists accuse the Pakistani military of widespread abuses in the province, including extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of young men suspected of sympathizing with separatists.
Earlier in April this year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner urged pakistan To address human rights violations in Balochistan.
UN human rights experts expressed grave concern over the “excessive and harmful effects of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism measures in Balochistan” and “called for full respect for international law”.
“We acknowledge the serious threat posed by armed groups in Balochistan and express our solidarity with the victims of terrorism,” the experts said. “All measures to counter terrorism must always respect international human rights and humanitarian law.”
The Government of Pakistan denies claims of human rights abuses and forced disappearances, and insists that many of the missing have joined separatist groups or fled the country.
The insurgency has flared up rapidly since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, with the latest insurgency beginning in the early 2000s. While early movements sought greater autonomy and resource control, the modern Baloch conflict is increasingly demanding full independence.
Despite repeated attacks, Pakistan Railways insists that the Jaffar Express will continue to run. “We will never fear such attacks,” Mr Abbasi said. dawnHe said that security will be tightened on railway routes. “The train will continue to run regularly.”