The Baloch insurgents responsible for hijacking a Pakistani passenger train have claimed that they executed all 214 military personnel they had taken hostage, as their 48-hour deadline for a prisoner swap expired on Friday. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan, dismissed the Pakistani military’s assertion that the siege had ended. Instead, they blamed the government’s refusal to negotiate as the reason for the mass executions.
The crisis began on Tuesday when BLA militants hijacked the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express after bombing a section of the railway tracks. The train was carrying over 400 passengers, a significant number of whom were security personnel. The insurgents later issued an ultimatum, demanding the release of Baloch political prisoners and activists whom they alleged had been forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani military.
According to a statement from the BLA, the Pakistani government failed to engage in meaningful negotiations and instead demonstrated its usual “stubbornness and military arrogance.” The group claimed that the authorities disregarded the severity of the situation and chose not to respond appropriately to the demands. “As a result of this stubbornness, all 214 hostages have been executed,” the statement declared.
The Pakistani Army had earlier launched a military operation to free the captives, stating that the siege was resolved within 30 hours. According to the military, all 33 insurgents involved in the attack were killed, while the death toll included 23 soldiers, three railway employees, and five civilian passengers.
However, the BLA refuted the military’s claims, insisting that intense combat was still ongoing and that Pakistani forces were suffering substantial casualties. In its latest statement, the group maintained that only 12 of its fighters had been killed during the operation, which they named “Darra-e-Bolan.”
The BLA elaborated on the course of events, stating that some of their “Fidayeen” fighters had locked groups of military hostages inside specific train compartments while others successfully moved the remaining captives to a secure location. According to the group, when Pakistani special forces launched their assault, the militants launched a counteroffensive, surrounding and attacking the commandos. They further claimed that the intense battle resulted in heavy losses for the Pakistani forces and that the hostages were ultimately executed.
While Pakistan maintains that the siege has ended, the conflicting narratives from both sides leave uncertainty over the true extent of the losses and the current situation on the ground.