‘We killed 214 military hostages of Pakistan’, big claim of Baloch rebels who hijacked train

New Delhi: Baloch rebels who hijacked a Pakistani passenger train have claimed that they have killed all 214 military hostages, as their 48-hour deadline for a deal to release Baloch political prisoners expired. The Baloch Liberation Army, which rejected the Pakistani army’s claim that the hostages had been released. The BLA said that the “stubbornness” of the Pakistani government forced them to do so. On Wednesday, the rebels had given the government a 48-hour ultimatum to release Baloch political prisoners and activists.

The train was hijacked by Baloch rebels
In fact, the Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group demanding the separation of Balochistan from Pakistan, hijacked the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express after blowing up the railway track on Tuesday. At the time the train was hijacked, more than 400 people were present in the train. After taking over the train, the BLA rebels let the elderly, women and children go.

The BLA said in a statement, “Pakistan, demonstrating its traditional stubbornness and military arrogance, not only avoided serious talks but also turned a blind eye to the ground reality. Due to this stubbornness, all 214 hostages were killed.”

There were more than 400 passengers on the train, most of whom were security personnel. The Pakistani army, which launched the operation to rescue the hostages, said that the siege ended on Wednesday after a 30-hour operation, in which all 33 rebels were killed. The army claimed that 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers were killed in the attack.

Claim of Baloch rebels
However, Baloch rebels refuted Pakistan’s claim, saying that fierce fighting is continuing and security forces are suffering “heavy losses”. In its latest statement, the BLA claimed that 12 of its personnel were killed in the operation called Darra-e-Bolan. The BLA statement further said, “The fidayeen locked some of the hostage military personnel in special bogies and took up their positions, while other BLA soldiers managed to move the remaining hostages to a safe place. When Pakistani commandos arrived, the fidayeen surrounded them and fiercely attacked them. The commandos suffered heavy losses, while the hostages were also killed.”