The Baloch insurgents who hijacked a Pakistani passenger train claimed to have executed all 214 military hostages after their 48-hour deadline for a prisoner swap expired on Friday. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) dismissed the Pakistani military’s assertion that the siege had ended, stating that the government’s refusal to negotiate forced their hand.
On Wednesday, the militants had issued an ultimatum demanding the release of Baloch political prisoners and activists—whom they accused the Pakistani military of abducting—in exchange for the hostages.
“However, Pakistan, displaying its traditional stubbornness and military arrogance, not only avoided serious negotiations but also turned a blind eye to the ground realities. As a result of this stubbornness, all 214 hostages have been executed,” the BLA said in a statement.
The BLA, a separatist group seeking Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan, hijacked the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on Tuesday after destroying railway tracks. The train was carrying over 400 passengers, many of whom were security personnel.
The Pakistani Army launched a military operation to rescue the hostages, later claiming that the siege ended on Wednesday following a 30-hour battle in which all 33 rebels were killed. The Army reported that 23 soldiers, three railway employees, and five passengers had died during the attack.
However, the Baloch rebels disputed this claim, insisting that intense fighting was still ongoing and that Pakistani forces were suffering heavy losses. In its latest statement, the BLA acknowledged that 12 of its members had been killed during the operation, which it referred to as “Darra-e-Bolan.”
“The Fidayeen locked some hostage military personnel in special bogies and took up positions while other freedom fighters managed to take the remaining hostages to a safe location. When the Pakistani commandos arrived, the Fidayeen surrounded and attacked them fiercely. The commandos suffered heavy casualties while the hostages were also executed,” the BLA statement further said.