Several passengers were injured when three carriages of the Jaffar Express derailed in Mastung’s Dasht area on Tuesday following an explosion on the railway track, officials confirmed. Railway authorities reported that one carriage overturned while two others came off the tracks. The train was traveling from Peshawar to Quetta at the time of the incident.
Rescue teams quickly dispatched ambulances from Quetta to the Dasht area to transport the injured to nearby hospitals. Levies officials confirmed that multiple passengers sustained injuries in the accident. This incident marks yet another attack on the Jaffar Express, which has faced multiple security threats in the past.
Earlier in June, five bogies of the Jaffar Express derailed near Jacobabad after a blast damaged the railway line, though no casualties were reported.
On March 11, militants of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked the train in Bolan district, taking over 440 passengers hostage in a day-long standoff. Security forces rescued the hostages, killing 33 attackers, while 26 passengers and four security personnel were martyred.
Recently, Gul Rehman, also known as Ustad Mureed, the operational commander of BLA’s Majeed Brigade, was killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. He had been involved in multiple attacks on civilians, security personnel, Chinese nationals, and CPEC projects.
The increase in cross-border terrorist activities has been linked to groups sheltering in Afghanistan, funded by India’s RAW, according to Pakistani sources.
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks, particularly in bordering provinces like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban to cut ties with proscribed groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), warning that failure to do so would be considered hostile activity.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, prioritizing passenger safety and the restoration of train services in the affected area while investigating the attack and reinforcing railway security measures across vulnerable routes.
