BALOCHISTAN separatist militants said they had taken 182 hostages including military personnel on Tuesday (11) in an attack on a train and threatened to kill them if security forces did not leave the area.
The train, which had about 400 passengers, was trapped in a tunnel and the driver was badly wounded, local authorities, police and railway officials said, without confirming the Baloch Liberation Army's (BLA) account of hostages.
Security forces said an explosion had been heard near the tunnel and that they were exchanging fire with the militants in a mountainous area.
The BLA, which seeks independence for Balochistan province bordering both Afghanistan and Iran, said it had killed 20 soldiers and shot down a drone.
There was no confirmation of that from Pakistani authorities.
The group said it had taken 182 hostages from the train, including Pakistan army members and other security officials travelling on leave.
Executions threatened
"Civilian passengers, particularly women, children, the elderly, and Baloch citizens, have been released safely and given a secure route," it said in a statement emailed to journalists and posted on Telegram.
"The BLA further warns that if military intervention continues, all hostages will be executed."
The Jaffar Express had been on its way from Balochistan's capital Quetta to the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when it was fired on.
The train had left Quetta at around 9 am for a more than 30-hour journey. The incident happened around 1:00 pm in rural Sibi district, near to a train station where it was due to stop.
The area is a mountainous region making it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks.
Pakistan's interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack and said the government would not make any concessions to "beasts who fire on innocent passengers".
The Balochistan government has imposed emergency measures to deal with the situation, spokesperson Shahid Rind said, without giving more details.
The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic groups battling the government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources.
The conflict has seen frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region.
More than 1,600 people were killed in attacks in Pakistan in 2024 - the deadliest year in almost a decade - according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group. (Agencies)
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