The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested four suspected facilitators involved in the March 11 terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express in Balochistan’s Bolan district, sources confirmed on Tuesday.
According to CTD sources, investigations into the attack are ongoing, with the department working alongside other agencies to identify and apprehend those responsible. Weapons and communication devices recovered from the slain terrorists have been sent for forensic analysis, the sources added.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, during which they blew up train tracks and held over 440 passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security forces near a remote mountain pass in Bolan.
Following a military operation to clear the train and rescue the hostages, 33 attackers were killed. However, the terrorists had already martyred 26 passengers before the operation commenced, and four security personnel lost their lives during the operation.
In a press conference on March 14, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused India of being the main sponsor of terrorism in Balochistan, linking the attack on the Jaffar Express to a broader pattern of destabilizing activities in the region.
At the briefing, accompanied by Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Lt Gen Chaudhry stated, “The latest attack in Balochistan and other terrorist incidents that have occurred in the past… we understand that the main sponsor of these [attacks] is your eastern neighbor.”
The DG ISPR confirmed that three soldiers from the Frontier Corps (FC) were martyred when the terrorists attacked a Frontier Corps picket before ambushing the Jaffar Express.
He also provided a breakdown of the casualties, revealing that 26 passengers had been killed in the incident, including 18 security personnel from the army and FC, three officials from Pakistan Railways, and five civilians. Additionally, five operation casualties were reported from the military side.
Lt Gen Chaudhry explained that the terrorists had halted the Jaffar Express using an IED blast in a difficult-to-access mountainous area. He emphasized that the attack on the Jaffar Express was part of India’s ongoing policy to sponsor terrorism in Pakistan.
“This incident is a continuation of the same policy, the same sponsorship—engineered from where it was being pushed,” he stated.
The DG ISPR also criticized the Indian media for spreading false information and propaganda by using fake videos created with artificial intelligence (AI). He accused Indian media of amplifying the situation by airing fabricated footage and old terrorist videos taken from social media to create a distorted narrative against Pakistan.
“Indian media tried to create a narrative [against Pakistan] by airing fake videos,” Lt Gen Chaudhry added. “They also played old videos of terrorists to spread malicious propaganda.”
