Pakistani fighters attack a train and take passengers for hostages

Armed fighters in the Pakistan region in Belokistan attacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers and took a number of hostages, military sources told the BBC.

The Liberation Army Army Baloch (BLA) fired on the Jaffar Express train while traveling from Queta to Peshawar.

A statement by the separatist group said she had bombed the track before storming the train in a remote neighborhood of Siby. He claims that the train is under his control.

Pakistani police said local reporters at least three people, including the train driver, were injured. Security forces were sent to the scene, as well as helicopters to try to save hostages, police told the BBC.

There have been reports of an “intensive shooting” on the train, a spokesman for the Belodzhistan government told the local Zora newspaper. A senior police officer said “remains stuck before a tunnel surrounded by mountains,” AFP News reports.

The Baloch Liberation Army warned of “severe consequences” if an attempt is made to save the ones he holds.

He has done decades of rebellion to gain independence and has begun numerous deadly attacks, often aimed at police departments, railways and highways. Pakistani authorities – as well as several Western countries, including the UK and the United States – have identified BLA as a terrorist organization.

Queta’s rail controller Mohammed Cashif told the BBC that 400-450 passengers had been booked on the train. Officials have not confirmed how much they think they have been taken hostage.

The quota railway staff, citing paramilitary sources, told the BBC that women and children were descending from the train and going to the city of Sibi. They did not have the right number.

Meanwhile, passenger families are trying to receive information from the counter at Queta Railway Station.

The son of a passenger, Mohammed Ashraf, who left Lahor’s quet on Tuesday morning, told BBC Urdu that he failed to contact his father. Officials say that they are yet to communicate with anyone on the train.

The area does not have internet and mobile network coverage, staff told BBC.

Belokistan is the largest province in Pakistan and the largest in terms of natural resources, but is the least developed.

Additional reporting from USMan Zahid and BBC URDU