Pakistan's Foreign Office Accuses India Of Being Behind Balochistan Train Hijack

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan also claimed that intelligence reports indicated the Baloch terrorists, behind the hijack, were in contact with their associates in Afghanistan

The Jaffar Express, carrying 440 passengers in nine coaches, was going from Quetta to Peshawar.

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Pakistan's Foreign Office on Thursday accused India of being behind the hijack of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan, in which 21 passengers and four paramilitary soldiers were killed by Baloch militants.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, during a media briefing, also claimed that intelligence reports indicated the Baloch terrorists, behind the hijack, were in contact with their associates in Afghanistan, a report in The Tribune said.

"We have repeatedly asked the Afghan interim government to prevent organisations like the BLA from operating within its borders," Khan said in a statement. 

He further said that the rescue operation following the Jaffar Express attack had been successfully completed.

Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif had said that the security forces killed all 33 militants present at the scene, adding that 21 passengers were killed by the terrorists when they attacked the train on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Tuesday after the Jaffar Express, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar carrying 450 passengers, was ambushed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists. The train was hijacked shortly after armed men intercepted it near the tunnel in the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri on Tuesday afternoon.

Bolan is a mountainous area of more than 100 kilometres between Quetta and Sibi. There are 17 tunnels in this area through which the railway track passes. The speed of trains is often slow in the area due to the difficult terrain. There were 70 to 80 terrorists involved in the hijack incident, according to the Pakistani government.