In Bolan, Balochistan, terrorists take train passengers hostage.

The majority of hostages are children and women; militants blow up train tracks to stop it.

On Tuesday, a group of unknown terrorists took the Jaffar Express passengers hostage in the Bolan area of Balochistan, which prompted security forces to respond. The train was traveling from Quetta in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Peshawar in nine bogies with over 400 passengers.

The train has been cordoned off and surrounded by security personnel, and a fierce firefight is still going on. The operation is being carried out with extreme caution because the terrorists are using women and children as human shields. The difficult terrain in the region makes things even more difficult, according to security sources.

As they took control of the train in a tunnel in the mountainous province that borders Afghanistan and Iran, the militants opened fire on the train, injuring the driver. The sources said that the assailants blew up a railway track and later opened fire on the train.  Security officials on the train and attackers exchanged heavy firing following the attack.

 According to Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the province's capital, who spoke with AFP, "Gunmen are holding over 450 passengers’ onboard hostage." He continued, "Passengers include children and women."

They added that security personnel arrived at the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district of Balochistan despite the difficult and winding road. According to security sources, the terrorists responsible for the train attack are communicating with their mastermind in Afghanistan and using women and children as human shields.

Preventative measures The Balochistan government has imposed emergency measures, and all institutions have been mobilized to deal with the situation, spokesperson Shahid Rind said.

 Additionally, security forces and relief trains arrived at the location. In the meantime, Sibi and the Civil Hospital in Quetta have been declared an emergency. According to the provincial health department, all medical and paramedical staff have been summoned to the Civil Hospital, and several wards were vacated to deal with the emergency.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and prayed for the early recovery of the injured people.  He added: "Beasts who opened fire on innocent passengers deserve no leniency."

Following the train-firing incident, an emergency information desk has been established at Quetta Railway Station.

A railway official was appointed to share relevant developments regarding the Jaffar Express incident.

The country witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January 2025, surging by 42% compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a think tank.

According to the data, there were at least 74 attacks by militants across the country that resulted in 91 deaths, including 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Another 117 people were injured, including 53 members of the security forces, 54 civilians, and 10 militants. At least 24 attacks occurred in Balochistan, resulting in the deaths of 26 people, including 11 security personnel, six civilians, and nine militants.