'Killed in front of our eyes': How the Pakistan train hijacking unfolded

Mehboob Hussain was riding the train home on Tuesday when the tracks under the front car exploded. In the depths of central Pakistan's Bolan Pass, a remote wilderness area with no internet or mobile network coverage, the nine-coach Jaffar Express ground to a halt. Then the bullets started flying.

"I was a passenger on the train that was attacked," Mr. Hussain told BBC Urdu. He, along with approximately 440 others, had been traveling from Quetta to Peshawar through the heart of Balochistan province when a group of armed militants struck. They bombed the tracks, fired at the train, and then stormed the carriages.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) quickly claimed responsibility for the siege and threatened to kill many of those on board if Pakistani authorities did not release Baloch political prisoners within 48 hours. The BLA, which has been designated a terrorist organization by many countries, has waged a decades-long insurgency for Balochistan's independence, accusing Islamabad of exploiting the province's rich mineral resources while neglecting it.

BLA militants have a history of attacking military camps, railway stations, and trains in the region, but this was the first time they had hijacked one.

The siege lasted over 30 hours. According to authorities, 300 passengers have now been freed, while several militants, 21 civilian hostages, and four military personnel were killed. However, conflicting reports suggest that many passengers remain unaccounted for. Information regarding the attack and the subsequent rescue operation has been tightly controlled throughout, but the BBC managed to speak to multiple eyewitnesses who described the "doomsday scenes" on board the train.

Ishaq Noor recounted, "We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next." 

A railway police officer who was on board the train shared with BBC Urdu that, contrary to initial reports from Pakistani authorities, the train was not in a tunnel but in an open area when it was attacked. The BLA released a video showing the moment the train was struck by the blast, depicting an open section of track that runs along the base of a rocky slope, where BLA fighters were located.

The officer detailed how he and other police officers initially fought to hold off the militants until their ammunition ran out. "They [the BLA] were moving in front of us on the mountain and were much more numerous, in the hundreds," the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, recalled. He noted that he was accompanied by four railway police and two members of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC). At least 100 of those on the train were members of the security forces, according to Pakistani officials.

The BLA released footage of the moment its fighters attacked the train. "I told my companion to give me the G-3 rifle because it is a better weapon," the officer explained. "After I got the rifle and the rounds, we started firing back. I used to fire one shot at a time so that they could not come near us and the train. However, in an hour and a half, our rounds were over... We were helpless."

Once the gunfire ceased on the Jaffar Express, the militants descended from the mountains and began taking passengers off the train. "They started checking ID cards and directing people which way to go," the officer said, adding that hostages were separated into groups according to their ethnicity. The militants were speaking in the Balochi language and stated, "We have made demands to the government, and if they are not met, we will not spare anyone; we will set the vehicle on fire."

The officer claimed that the militants were receiving orders: "They would get orders to kill, and they would pick individuals from the group and execute them. They killed many people—both army personnel and civilians."

Some passengers, however, were allowed to leave unharmed, including women, children, the elderly, and those who were from Balochistan, according to Mr. Noor. Among those released was Noor Muhammad, who recounted that when the initial gunfire ceased after an hour, armed men forced open the train door and entered, demanding, "Get out, or we will shoot you."

Mr. Muhammad was escorted off the train, and when he told the militants that his wife was still in the back of the car, they brought her out, too. They then instructed the couple to walk straight ahead and not look back. After "great difficulty," they reached Panir Railway Station around 7 PM, where they rested.

His wife recalled the moment when the Pakistan military arrived to meet them, stating, "They told me, 'Ma'am, come inside.'"