QUETTA, Pakistan — Survivors of the Pakistan train hijacking described their harrowing ordeal on Thursday, a day after security forces launched a military operation to rescue them from separatist militants.
“As soon as the explosion happened, armed men stormed the train,” said Arslan Yousaf, one of the rescued hostages. “They had launchers, guns, and other weapons, and they immediately started firing—shooting directly at people. They kept shouting, ‘We will kill anyone who doesn’t come out.’”
The attack, carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), began on Tuesday when militants blew up a railway track and seized the Jaffar Express, which was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar with 440 passengers on board. Pakistani security forces launched a rescue operation on Wednesday, killing all 33 militants and freeing the hostages, according to the military.
After the initial attack, the militants forced passengers off the train and separated them by ethnic background, according to hostages.
“They began checking everyone’s ID cards—Punjabis, Sindhis, Baloch. They separated us into groups,” Yousaf said. “Sometimes, they took soldiers outside and executed them. Other times, they targeted specific individuals. If they had a grudge against someone, they shot him on the spot.”
Another hostage, Muhammad Tanveer, described the conditions they endured while in captivity.
“We didn’t eat anything for two days. Our last meal was at sunrise (the pre-dawn meal for fasting during Ramadan), and after that, we survived only on water,” Tanveer said. “We even had to drink water from the train’s washroom. Then, last night, our army arrived. By evening, they had cleared everything. They gave us protection, served us food and water, and took care of the situation.”
A military spokesperson confirmed that 21 hostages and four security personnel were killed during the incident. However, officials said no civilians were killed in the final stage of the operation.
Government officials stated that 190 hostages had already been rescued by Wednesday, with more than 50 taken to Quetta to be reunited with their families.
The BLA, which has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani state for years, had threatened to execute hostages unless the government released Baloch political prisoners. The group also claimed to have killed security personnel during the attack, though its claims could not be independently verified.
As authorities work to restore rail services, survivors of the attack remain shaken by the traumatic experience. “It was terrifying,” Yousaf said. “I hope we never have to go through something like this again.”
