Militants hijack passenger train, take hostages in western Pakistan, officials say

A train carrying hundreds of passengers has been hijacked by separatist militants who are also holding a number of passengers hostage in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, according to government and railway officials.

The train, known as the Jaffer Express, was stopped by the militants as it reached a tunnel on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. The train was on its way from Quetta in Balochistan, Pakistan’s westernmost province, to the northwestern city of Peshawar.

“Armed individuals stopped Jaffer Express inside Tunnel No. 8 (in Bolan),” Muhammad Kashif, Quetta Railways’ controller told CNN.

The train, which departed from Quetta at 9 a.m. local time, consists of nine coaches and is carrying approximately 450 passengers, Kashif said.

“We are unable to make any contact with passengers and crew, and the situation remains unclear,” Kashif told CNN Tuesday afternoon.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The BLA said in a statement seen by CNN that they had taken hostages from the train who will be “executed” if a security operation takes place.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind told CNN that “intense gunfire has been reported” on the train.

Rind said the train is currently being held in Balochistan’s mountainous region of Sibi, making access “challenging.”

The Balochistan government has directed emergency response efforts, Rind said, with a relief train sent to the scene. Meanwhile, security forces are en route to secure the area, he said.

Authorities are investigating the incident and are considering the possibility of a terrorist attack, Rind added.

On Friday, in a letter seen by CNN, Balochistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had issued a threat alert, regarding “a planned attack” by the BLA and asked “all concerned authorities” to “take extraordinary precautions and safety measures to prevent any occurrence.”

An insurgency in Balochistan has been running for decades, but has gained traction in recent years since the province’s deep-water Gwadar port was leased to China, the jewel in the crown of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure push in Pakistan.

Militants are angered by what they say is the state’s exploitation of the region’s rich mineral resources, with little of the proceeds filtering down to people in what remains Pakistan’s poorest province. The port, often touted as “the next Dubai,” has become a security nightmare with persistent bombings of vehicles carrying Chinese workers, with many killed.

The BLA has been responsible for the deadliest attacks in Pakistan in the past year.

This is a developing story and will be updated.