Pakistan Forces Face Militants Holding Train in Balochistan

(Bloomberg) — Pakistani security forces said they rescued more than 100 people from a passenger train being held by militants in a remote portion of the country’s southwestern Balochistan province.

The operation to secure the train, which local media reported could be carrying as many as 500 passengers, is ongoing late Tuesday night in Pakistan, according to security officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity give the sensitivity of the situation. 

Authorities traded weapons fire with the militants during the efforts to rescue the passengers, which included women and children, the officials said, adding that 17 people were injured and 16 militants were killed. 

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 20 soldiers, according to Pakistani media.

Insurgents based in mineral-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, have demanded a bigger share of the province’s resources, while militants linked to the Taliban and other terrorist groups have also conducted operations there.

The attack comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is trying to rebuild the fragile South Asian economy and lure investments, while struggling to control violence in parts of the country. 

Multiple people have been injured in the attack near Bolan in Balochistan, the country’s Interior Ministry said earlier in a statement, without providing further details. 

The episode began Tuesday when attackers opened fire on the Jaffar Express train, according to Mukhtar Ahmed, a police official in Quetta who handles railway security. The train was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar.

“The train has been stopped due to firing,” Ahmed said. “It’s a difficult, rocky terrain. The only access to the spot is by walking.” 

Militant insurgent attacks climbed 40% to 905 last year, killing almost 1,200 people, according to Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Violence has been a particular issue in Balochistan. In one of the deadliest days in the southwest province in recent years, last year at least 47 people were killed in more than half a dozen separate attacks by unidentified militants. 

China, which has built major infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan, last year urged Islamabad to provide a safe environment for its projects after militants targeted a convoy of Chinese workers at the Port Qasim Electric Power Co. near Karachi’s airport. Two Chinese nationals died in the attack. 

–With assistance from Faseeh Mangi.

(Updates with details throughout.)

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