Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan on Thursday to review security and express solidarity with locals after the Jaffar Express hijacking. The attack left 21 civilians and four soldiers dead.
His visit comes a day after security forces killed all 33 Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who hijacked the train on Tuesday.
Sharif was accompanied by Deputy PM Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Science Minister Nawabzada Mir Khalid Magsi, and other officials.
The attack occurred when the train, carrying 440 passengers from Quetta to Peshawar, was ambushed near Gudalar and Piru Kunri. Militants opened fire and held passengers hostage, triggering a two-day security operation.
Announcing the operation’s completion, military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the militants “remained in contact with their facilitators and mastermind based in Afghanistan via satellite phone.”
The Pakistan Air Force, Special Services Group, Army, and Frontier Corps participated in the rescue.
Chaudhry warned that no one would be allowed to target innocent Pakistanis in public spaces. “Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffar Express changes the rules of the game,” he said.
The bodies of those killed will be sent to their native areas after formal procedures.