The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the clearance operation — launched a day earlier after the unprecedented hijacking of Jaffar Express in Balochistan — has been completed. He added that all terrorists, 33 in total, at the site of the attack had been killed.
“On March 11 in Bolan, terrorists targeted a railroad track around 1pm and blew it up and stopped the Jaffer Express. According to railway officials, the train had 440 passengers,” he said while speaking to news anchor Kamran Shahid on Dunya News show ‘On the Front.’
The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, but this was not mentioned by Lt Gen Chaudhry.
He said the area where the incident took place was difficult to approach as it was far away from civilisation and road networks.
“The terrorists used hostages, including women and children, as human shields. The recovery operation was immediately started,” he added.
Chaudhry said the army, air force, Frontier Corps and SSG personnel had taken part and recovered the hostages.
“These terrorists were in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone. You saw that around 100 passengers were safely rescued yesterday evening from the terrorists, and today as well, a large number of passengers have been recovered,” he said, adding that the process continued intermittently.
Elaborating on the details of the “final clearance operation” today, he said: “All hostage passengers were recovered. This operation was conducted with great skill and care since terrorists were using them as human shields.”
Questioned whether he was confirming the operation’s end with all terrorists killed, the DG ISPR said: “Yes, all present terrorists there have been sent to hell and their total number was 33.”
He added that no passenger was hurt in the final clearance operation, but before that, “the number of passengers who fell victim to the barbarism of the terrorists is 21.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry further told the news channel that three FC personnel stationed on the railway picket were martyred, while one FC soldier was martyred during yesterday’s operation.
The chief of the military’s media wing added that the bomb disposal squad was conducting further clearance and inspecting the train and the surrounding area as per standard operating procedures.
He said the passengers held hostage, who had fled to the surrounding area during the operation, were also being gathered.
“No one can be permitted to make innocent people of Pakistan the victim of their barbarism in the streets, trains, buses or markets because of their misleading ideas and instructions and facilitation of foreign masters.
“Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffer Express changes the rules of the game.”
He said the terrorists had nothing to do with Islam, Pakistan and Balochistan.
Details of the operation
Presenting a monochromatic drone footage of the incident, he pointed to three black blots or blobs on the screen and said they were the groups of passengers the terrorists had gathered.
“Suicide bombers were sitting amid the passengers’ groups, as well as next to them,” he said, adding that it was the reason for the “slow and careful” progress of the military.
He said the operation commanders had first taken out these suicide bombers in today’s exercise, following which the passengers fled to nearby areas.
After this, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the operation party entered the train and proceeded to take out the suicide bombers aboard and began clearing it out bogey by bogey.
‘Some elements sacrificing national interest for power lust’
The DG ISPR criticised the flow of misinformation online and on social media amid the incident, particularly from India, saying that this openly displayed the “nexus between the terrorists and their masters to the whole world.”
“Interestingly, some specific political elements in Pakistan also partake in such activities enthusiastically and activate their social media [teams], and instead of standing with the state, they can be seen creating baseless justifications and reasons for this horrible terrorist act,” he said.
“Sadly, some elements are sacrificing the national interest due to their lust for political power,” he said.
However, Chaudhry asserted that the discerning nation was not only observing and understanding the unfolding events but also recognising the forces driving “this anarchic politics”.
Questioned about criticism of security agencies for misfocused priorities, the DG ISPR said law enforcement and intelligence agencies were carrying out over 160 operations daily against terrorism.
