India and Afghanistan deny the accusations, as Pakistan releases new details of the military operation that freed hundreds of captives. On March 11, 33 fighters of separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) were neutralized by Pakistan’s military in a 36-hour operation to rescue more than 400 passengers of a Hijacked Train.
Pakistan’s Charges Against India and Afghanistan
And on Friday, Pakistan accused the hijackers of the Jaffar Express of being “terrorists” who communicated with “handlers in Afghanistan,” also blaming India for the attack.
During a press briefing in Islamabad, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said:
“We need to realize that in this terrorist event happened in Balochistan, and previously, and the main sponsor of them is our eastern neighbor [India].
He also called out Indian media reporting, saying it had heavily relied on videos circulated by BLA and even used AI-generated or stale images to shape the narrative.
In a one-hour-long briefing, Chaudhry, with Balochistan's Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti disclosed the details of the military operation, Operation Green Bolan, which saw hundreds of hostages rescued following a bleak stand-off.
Casualties and Hostages
A total of 354 passengers were rescued and 26 people, including civilians and security personnel, died, said Chaudhry. The BLA lost 33 members.
Military initially said 21 had been killed, including civilians and security forces, but further investigation found five more dead.
The breakdown of the casualties included:
⦁ 18 security personnel (Army and paramilitary forces)
⦁ Three railway staff members
⦁ Five civilian passengers
How the Hijacking Unfolded
The train was hijacked 32 km (20 miles) from the city of Sibbi, on its way into a tunnel in the hilly Bolan Pass area.
Chaudhry said the BLA militants had carried out the strike by first blowing up an improvised explosive device (IED) to stop the train. Earlier, they raided a nearby paramilitary post, killing three soldiers.
After the train halted, the armed men segregated passengers by ethnicity, letting women and children stay on board and hostage male passengers.
Pakistan’s security forces swiftly dispatched teams of responders while keeping a safe distance, monitoring events with the assistance of aerial surveillance units, including drones.
Operation Green Bolan: Pakistan’s Response
Reconnaissance teams and aerial units of the military got deployed within an hour after the hijacking. Security forces eavesdropped on talk between the attackers and their reported links in Afghanistan by way of cash walkie-talkies. Eyewitness testimonials indicated that a few of the surviving BLA militants were suicide bombers.
The Rescue Mission
After that, on the night of March 11, more than eight hours after the hijacking began, the BLA set free a group of women, children and elderly passengers, ordering them to walk 6 km (four miles) to the nearest train station.
The unit was described by a senior intelligence official as:
“A highly trained counterterrorism force focused on hostage rescue and fighting insurgents.”
The military showed footage during the press conference of rescue workers leading hostages fleeing to safety as security forces mounted their final assault.
”By the afternoon of March 12, Zarrar Company had taken stock. Our intelligence tracked would-be suicide bombers among the captives. The first step was to neutralize these threats, before our troops could go inside the train safely,” Chaudhry said.
He also stressed that no hostages were harmed during the operation, demonstrating the precision and skill of the Pakistan forces.
What Were India and Afghanistan’s Reactions?
After Pakistan made the accusations, India and Afghanistan both rejected them.
It claimed, in a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan:
“Communications that have been intercepted confirm connections between the attackers and Afghanistan. The terrorists find safe havens in Afghanistan, and Pakistan has time and again requested the Afghan interim government to take care that groups like BLA do not use Afghan soil for committing acts of terrorism.”
However, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, firmly rejected Pakistan’s claims, saying:
“We refute these groundless claims. The whole world knows where the center of global terrorism exists. Pakistan should blame the failure on its own internal issues and not others.”
The government led by the Afghan Taliban also rejected the Pakistani assertions. The Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement:
“Pakistan should deal with its security challenges instead of issuing irresponsible statements.”
The Afghan government spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi denied the presence of BLA in Afghanistan and allegations of involvement by them.
Global Warnings On Cross-Border Militancy
Pakistan has long blamed Afghanistan for hosting groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or T.T.P.
A recent United Nations report made mention of the Taliban’s suspected backing of the TTP, responsible for scores of attacks inside Pakistan. The alleged connections between the BLA and the Taliban and ISKP suggest a broader nexus between militant groups in the region, the report claimed.
What’s Next?
Although Pakistan has announced the end of the train hijacking crisis, tensions are running high among all three countries. The most recent incident has put a dent in diplomatic ties, with Pakistan pledging to reinforce security protocols along its shared borders with Afghanistan.
For now, India and Afghanistan reject Pakistan’s assertions, arguing that Pakistan should focus on its own security shortcomings, not blame elsewhere. Pakistan’s military, by contrast, insists that external forces helped orchestrate the attack. The situation is still in flux, with security analysts saying they cannot rule out future attacks.
For now, Pakistan’s leadership faces both public pressure to avoid similar incidents and a delicate diplomatic balancing act to resolve cross-border militancy concerns.
Pakistan’s Charges Against India and Afghanistan
And on Friday, Pakistan accused the hijackers of the Jaffar Express of being “terrorists” who communicated with “handlers in Afghanistan,” also blaming India for the attack.
During a press briefing in Islamabad, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said:
“We need to realize that in this terrorist event happened in Balochistan, and previously, and the main sponsor of them is our eastern neighbor [India].
He also called out Indian media reporting, saying it had heavily relied on videos circulated by BLA and even used AI-generated or stale images to shape the narrative.
In a one-hour-long briefing, Chaudhry, with Balochistan's Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti disclosed the details of the military operation, Operation Green Bolan, which saw hundreds of hostages rescued following a bleak stand-off.
Casualties and Hostages
A total of 354 passengers were rescued and 26 people, including civilians and security personnel, died, said Chaudhry. The BLA lost 33 members.
Military initially said 21 had been killed, including civilians and security forces, but further investigation found five more dead.
The breakdown of the casualties included:
⦁ 18 security personnel (Army and paramilitary forces)
⦁ Three railway staff members
⦁ Five civilian passengers
How the Hijacking Unfolded
The train was hijacked 32 km (20 miles) from the city of Sibbi, on its way into a tunnel in the hilly Bolan Pass area.
Chaudhry said the BLA militants had carried out the strike by first blowing up an improvised explosive device (IED) to stop the train. Earlier, they raided a nearby paramilitary post, killing three soldiers.
After the train halted, the armed men segregated passengers by ethnicity, letting women and children stay on board and hostage male passengers.
Pakistan’s security forces swiftly dispatched teams of responders while keeping a safe distance, monitoring events with the assistance of aerial surveillance units, including drones.
Operation Green Bolan: Pakistan’s Response
Reconnaissance teams and aerial units of the military got deployed within an hour after the hijacking. Security forces eavesdropped on talk between the attackers and their reported links in Afghanistan by way of cash walkie-talkies. Eyewitness testimonials indicated that a few of the surviving BLA militants were suicide bombers.
The Rescue Mission
After that, on the night of March 11, more than eight hours after the hijacking began, the BLA set free a group of women, children and elderly passengers, ordering them to walk 6 km (four miles) to the nearest train station.
The unit was described by a senior intelligence official as:
“A highly trained counterterrorism force focused on hostage rescue and fighting insurgents.”
The military showed footage during the press conference of rescue workers leading hostages fleeing to safety as security forces mounted their final assault.
”By the afternoon of March 12, Zarrar Company had taken stock. Our intelligence tracked would-be suicide bombers among the captives. The first step was to neutralize these threats, before our troops could go inside the train safely,” Chaudhry said.
He also stressed that no hostages were harmed during the operation, demonstrating the precision and skill of the Pakistan forces.
What Were India and Afghanistan’s Reactions?
After Pakistan made the accusations, India and Afghanistan both rejected them.
It claimed, in a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan:
“Communications that have been intercepted confirm connections between the attackers and Afghanistan. The terrorists find safe havens in Afghanistan, and Pakistan has time and again requested the Afghan interim government to take care that groups like BLA do not use Afghan soil for committing acts of terrorism.”
However, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, firmly rejected Pakistan’s claims, saying:
“We refute these groundless claims. The whole world knows where the center of global terrorism exists. Pakistan should blame the failure on its own internal issues and not others.”
The government led by the Afghan Taliban also rejected the Pakistani assertions. The Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement:
“Pakistan should deal with its security challenges instead of issuing irresponsible statements.”
The Afghan government spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi denied the presence of BLA in Afghanistan and allegations of involvement by them.
Global Warnings On Cross-Border Militancy
Pakistan has long blamed Afghanistan for hosting groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or T.T.P.
A recent United Nations report made mention of the Taliban’s suspected backing of the TTP, responsible for scores of attacks inside Pakistan. The alleged connections between the BLA and the Taliban and ISKP suggest a broader nexus between militant groups in the region, the report claimed.
What’s Next?
Although Pakistan has announced the end of the train hijacking crisis, tensions are running high among all three countries. The most recent incident has put a dent in diplomatic ties, with Pakistan pledging to reinforce security protocols along its shared borders with Afghanistan.
For now, India and Afghanistan reject Pakistan’s assertions, arguing that Pakistan should focus on its own security shortcomings, not blame elsewhere. Pakistan’s military, by contrast, insists that external forces helped orchestrate the attack. The situation is still in flux, with security analysts saying they cannot rule out future attacks.
For now, Pakistan’s leadership faces both public pressure to avoid similar incidents and a delicate diplomatic balancing act to resolve cross-border militancy concerns.
