The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is one of the largest ethnic armed militant groups fighting the government in Balochistan, a region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. On Tuesday, the BLA blew up railway tracks and fired rockets at the Jaffar Express, taking passengers hostage to demand the release of prisoners, activists, and others it claimed had been abducted by the military.

The train, carrying 440 passengers, was en route from Quetta in Balochistan to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it came under attack.

The tense silence inside the train was shattered by gunfire as Pakistani forces stormed the hijacked train on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, killing 33 separatist militants and rescuing 100 passengers.

“Today, we rescued many people, including women and children. The final operation was executed with utmost caution,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters. He added that no civilians were killed in the final stage of the operation.

Before the army’s announcement, the BLA claimed to have killed 50 passengers on Wednesday evening.