New Delhi:
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which seeks freedom from Pakistan to Balochistan, said in a statement that it took control of a train and took hundreds of passengers hostage. The BLA said six Pakistani military personnel were also killed.
Railway authorities told the reports of the news agency that Jaffer Express was on the way from Quetta to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Nine bogies, along with more than 400 passengers, Pakistan’s South -West Balochistan province.
The BLA said in a statement signed by its spokesperson Jiyand Baloch that the hostages would be killed if the Pakistani forces started an operation.
BLA fighters blew up railway tracks and forced the train to stop, after which they boarded it.
In a statement shared on social media, the BLA spokesman said, “Any military avatar will be fulfilled with a tremendous response. So far, six military personnel have been killed, and hundreds of passengers are in custody.
A railway official said that the security forces had reached the place of the incident.
Government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that the Government of Balochistan has taken emergency measures and all institutions have been mobilized to deal with the situation.
A decades-long rebellion in Balochistan by separatist terrorist groups has carried out continuous attacks against the Pakistani government, army and Chinese interests in the region, suppressing the demand for stock in mineral-rich resources.
The BLA is the largest of many ethnic rebellious groups, which has been battling the Pakistani government for decades, saying that it incorrectly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
Although Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan, which covers about 44 percent of the total landslides of the country, it is the lowest population province. This province is one of the world’s largest deep sea ports in Gwadar, which Pakistan says that is strategically important for regional and global trade routes.
Located in the south -western region of Pakistan, Balochistan shared borders with the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab in the northeast, Punjab in the east and Sindh in the south east. It also keeps Iran in the West and Afghanistan north, while its southern border is made by the Arabian Sea.
With input from Reuters
(Tagstotranslet) Baloch Liberation Army (T) Balochistan (T) Baloch Liberation Army Train Mortgage
