The driver of the Jaffar Express recalled the hours of terror when militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army attacked the train which claimed lives of 21 civilians and 4 soldiers.
Speaking after the attack, loco-pilot Amjad described how the BLA militants detonated an explosive under the train’s engine, which led to the derailment of the train.
“The terrorists breached the train by smashing windows, but they mistakenly believed we were dead,” Amjad told news agency Reuters.
“As soon as the train stopped, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists launched an attack,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the freed passengers recalled how the attackers took them hostage after the blast.
“They held us at gunpoint, but the commandos risked their own lives to rescue us,” he said, adding that the military’s courage gave them strength during the ordeal.
Pakistan’s military declared an end to the Jaffar Express hostage crisis after a two-day standoff.
Also read: ‘Killed in front of our eyes’: Survivors reveal how the 36-hour Pakistan train hijacking unfolded
The Pakistan army on Wednesday night said that all 33 attackers were killed, and more than 340 train passengers were freed after a fierce operation in southwest Balochistan, where the train had been ambushed a day earlier.
However, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) refuted the Pakistan military’s claim and asserted that it still holds hostages and remains engaged in battle with security forces.
BLA accused the military of misleading the public and said the hostages claimed to have been rescued by Pakistan’s forces were actually released by the BLA.
“Now that the state has abandoned its hostages to die, it will also bear responsibility for their deaths,” BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan where he reviewed the security situation and expressed solidarity with the victims of the attack. He condemned the rising threat of militancy, calling it an existential danger to Pkistan.
“Pakistan’s peace and prosperity are linked with eradicating terrorism. There will be no prosperity without peace,” he said at a high-level meeting.
Death toll figures have varied, with the military reporting that “21 innocent hostages” and four soldiers were killed in the operation.
However, a railway official in Balochistan said that 25 bodies were retrieved from the scene and transported to the nearby town of Mach. “Deceased were identified as 19 military passengers, one police and one railway official, while four bodies are yet to be identified,” an anonymous railway official told AFP.
