Pakistan Railways Suspends Jaffar Express Services Till Nov 12 Over Security Concerns In Balochistan

Karachi : The Pakistan Railways has suspended services of the Jaffar Express between Quetta and Peshawar for four days beginning Sunday, citing heightened security concerns in Balochistan, months after the train came under a deadly insurgent attack that left 26 people dead.
Railway officials said the temporary four-day suspension from November 9 to 12 was a precautionary measure based on advice from security and intelligence agencies to ensure the safety of passengers, railway staff, civilians and critical rail assets.
Locals say the move would affect thousands of passengers who rely on the Jaffar Express as the most affordable mode of transportation between the two cities.
The Jaffar Express has been repeatedly targeted by insurgents and militants in recent months, with the attack in March being the worst.
In March, the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the Jaffar Express with 380 passengers on board, triggering a two-day standoff in a mountainous area and claiming 26 lives. Security forces later rescued around 354 passengers, while 33 insurgents were killed.
In October, several people were injured in a blast that occurred on a railway track, which derailed five bogies of the train in Sindh province.
In September, a blast on the track in Balochistan’s Mastung area damaged one coach and derailed six others, injuring 12 passengers.
On August 10, four people were wounded after an improvised explosive device caused six coaches of the same train to derail in Mastung. On August 4, the pilot engine sent for clearance came under gunfire near Kolpur, an attack later claimed by BLA.
In July, three coaches of the Jaffar Express train derailed due to an explosion in Sindh. In a similar attack in June, a bomb explosion in Sindh’s Jacobabad district derailed four coaches of the Jaffar Express, though no casualties were reported.
In November last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Quetta railway station, killing at least 26 people and injuring dozens.
Insurgent groups have increasingly used Balochistan’s remote and rugged terrain to target convoys, railway tracks and trains in recent months. (Agencies)