- By Ajeet Kumar
- Fri, 14 Mar 2025 06:19 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistani Army has again shifted the blame for the deadly train hijacking to India despite New Delhi's strong response against the earlier allegations. Separatist Baloch militants on Tuesday blew up the railway track and hurled rockets at the Jaffar Express when it was on its way to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from Balochistan's capital of Quetta, carrying 440 people. The military said 21 hostages and four security troops were killed over the course of the standoff.
Addressing a press conference, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry alleged India was the main "sponsor of terrorism in Balochistan"- baseless allegations that it had made several times.
No mobile signals
Chaudhry provided a brief detail of the incident again and said that the terrorists had deliberately selected a remote location to conduct the attack, Dawn reported. “The reason I am mentioning the location is that the terrain was extremely difficult, making physical access very challenging. There were no mobile signals there either.”
Before the train was ambushed, he said, a large group of terrorists attacked a Frontier Corps picket, martyring three FC soldiers. “They operated in multiple groups, taking strategic positions on higher ground. After planting the improvised explosive device (IED), which disabled the train, they took the passengers hostage,” he claimed without providing any concrete evidence. He said some passengers were held inside the train while others were separated into three groups outside.
Terrorists tried to create a “false impression”
"A group of hostages was released based on their ethnic affiliations,” he said, adding that there were logistical reasons for the move since there were too many people in the train for the terrorists to control.
He said the terrorists tried to create a “false impression” of humanitarian values by claiming they had released some hostages. Lt. Gen Chaudhry alleged the terrorists had used both Indian and Afghan weapons in the recent incident, as well as in previous attacks-- a claim that the army had made whenever the country was attacked. We must understand that in this terrorist incident in Balochistan, and others before, the main sponsor is your eastern neighbour.”
India has rejected Pakistan's allegations
India has strongly denied suggestions made by the Pakistan foreign office that India had a hand in the Jaffar Express attack. MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. The whole world knows where the epicenter of global terrorism lies. Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its own internal problems and failures on to others."
Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan claimed that the rebels involved in the attack on the Jaffar Express were in contact with ring leaders in Afghanistan.
"India has been involved in terrorism in Pakistan. In the particular attack on Jaffar express, the terrorists had been in contact with their handlers and ring leaders in Afghanistan," Shafqat Ali Khan said during his weekly press briefing.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad claiming that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
(With inputs from agencies)