'Killed in front of our eyes': Survivors reveal how the 36-hour Pakistan train hijacking unfolded

Militants hijacked a train in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, holding passengers hostage for nearly 36 hours. The Pakistani military later announced on Wednesday that a successful rescue operation had ended the standoff, freeing the hostages and eliminating over 30 militants.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mehboob Hussain was travelling when an explosion damaged the tracks beneath the front carriage. The nine-coach Jaffar Express came to a stop in the isolated Bolan Pass of central Pakistan, an area devoid of internet and mobile connectivity. Subsequently, gunfire erupted.

440 passengers travelling, 300 rescued

"I was a passenger on the train that was attacked," Hussain told BBC Urdu. He and roughly 440 fellow passengers were travelling from Quetta to Peshawar through Balochistan province when armed militants launched their attack, bombing the tracks, shooting at the train and boarding the carriages.

Officials report that 300 passengers have been rescued, whilst 33 BLA militants, 21 civilian hostages and four military personnel lost their lives. However, fate of several passengers remains uncertain, with reports from Reuters and AFP suggesting some militants departed with an unknown number of hostages.
The

Balochistan Liberation Army

(BLA), a militant separatist group operating in Pakistan's Balochistan province, quickly claimed responsibility for the train hijacking, threatening to kill hostages unless Pakistani authorities released Baloch political prisoners.
BBC interviewed several witnesses who recounted the terrifying events aboard the train during the attack. "We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next," Ishaq Noor a passenger said.

Train was 'not in a tunnel but in an open area'

A railway police officer aboard the train told the outlet that, contrary to initial official statements, the train was "not in a tunnel but in an open area" during the attack.
The BLA has shared purported footage of the train explosion. The video displays an exposed track section alongside a substantial rocky incline. The footage shows BLA fighters positioned at the summit of this incline.
The officer detailed to the BBC how he initially "fought together with other police officers" to resist the militants until "the ammunition ran out".
"They [the BLA] were moving in front of us on the mountain and they were much more numerous than us, in the hundreds," the officer, speaking anonymously, stated.
He mentioned being accompanied by four railway police and two Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary members. "I told my companion to give me the G-3 rifle because it is a better weapon," the officer explained.
"When I got the rifle and the rounds, we also started firing back. I used to fire one shot at a time at them so that they could not come near us and the train... [But] in an hour-and-half, our rounds were over... We were helpless," he added.

'Militants descended from the mountains'

After the gunfire from the Jaffar Express subsided, armed militants descended from the mountains and began evacuating passengers. The officer described how they conducted identity checks and segregated hostages based on their ethnicity alongside the train.
According to the passengers, the militants issued threats speaking in Balochi stating their demands to the government and warning of severe consequences, including burning the vehicle if their demands weren't met. The officer noted that the militants received instructions to execute people, targeting both military personnel and civilians from the segregated groups.
The militants permitted certain groups to leave unharmed, including women, children, elderly individuals and Balochistan residents, according to Noor.
Noor Muhammad, who was amongst those released, described how armed men entered the train after an hour of gunfire, demanding passengers to exit under threat.
Muhammad and his wife were escorted off the train and instructed to walk straight ahead without looking back. They reached Panir Railway Station at about 1900 after a challenging journey through wilderness. His wife recounted their rescue by Pakistan military personnel who transported them safely to Machh and subsequently to their waiting children in Quetta.
The police official, speaking anonymously, described how numerous BLA militants began departing as night fell. "Many of them hugged each other and 70, 80 people left while 20, 25 stayed behind," he said.

'Killed in front of our eyes'

Violence erupted again around 10pm when some attempted to flee. "Some people tried to run away, they [the BLA] saw them and opened fire, then everyone fell to the ground," the official added.
Mehboob another passenger further recounted continuous gunfire throughout the night and described how a person near him, a father of five daughters, was shot.
"When someone is killed in front of your eyes, you don't know what to do," he said.
Another passenger, Allahditta, recounted how the BLA killed his cousin before his eyes. He mentioned that his cousin begged for his life, citing his young daughters, but "his life was not spared".
The rescue operation began during Wednesday morning prayers when FC forces engaged the militants. Amidst the chaos, several hostages managed to escape.
The police official described fleeing with his injured companion, carrying him beyond the firing range with assistance from another person. Mehboob, Allahdita, the police official and his companion survived the ordeal during the FC's intervention.

Who is the Balochistan Liberation Army

The Balochistan Liberation Army has been fighting for an independent Baloch state and has intensified attacks in recent years, targeting security forces, infrastructure, and foreign investments, particularly Chinese projects.
While the group has a history of attacking military camps, railway stations, and trains, this marked the first time they had hijacked a train.