FO: Jaffar Express Terrorists Were in Contact with Ring Leaders in Afghanistan

The Foreign Office (FO) confirmed on Thursday that the terrorists responsible for the Jaffar Express attack were in contact with their ring leaders in Afghanistan. A day after the successful rescue operation, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan addressed the press, stating that the terrorists had been communicating with their handlers in Afghanistan during the attack.

“India has also been involved in supporting terrorism in Pakistan. In this particular case, the attackers had links with their leaders in Afghanistan,” Khan said during his weekly briefing. He added that the rescue operation for the Jaffar Express attack had concluded, and intelligence reports indicate that the terrorists had been in contact with their associates across the border.

This statement follows the successful operation where security forces eliminated all 33 members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) who had hijacked the Jaffar Express, which was carrying over 400 passengers as hostages. While all hostages were freed, 21 passengers tragically lost their lives before the operation began. Additionally, four Frontier Corps personnel were martyred during the attack in the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district.

Khan further revealed that intercepted communications had confirmed the attackers’ ties to Afghanistan. “The terrorists have found safe havens in Afghanistan, and Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan interim government to take action and prevent groups like the BLA from operating on Afghan soil,” he said.

While the FO spokesperson emphasized that Pakistan does not publicly discuss diplomatic exchanges, he highlighted that Pakistan has consistently shared detailed evidence of these incidents with Afghanistan.

Khan also reiterated that Pakistan’s primary goal is to foster strong and friendly ties with Afghanistan, while counterterrorism remains a key area of cooperation with international partners.

Following the operation, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, stated that the Jaffar Express attack had fundamentally changed the rules of engagement. “Whoever is responsible will be hunted down and brought to justice,” he asserted, adding that the attackers had no connection to Islam, Pakistan, or Balochistan.

In an official statement, the ISPR confirmed that intelligence reports had directly linked the attack to terrorist ring leaders based in Afghanistan, who maintained communication with the attackers throughout the incident.