Pakistan militants attack the train and take passengers as hostages

Armed militants in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan have attacked a train that transports hundreds of passengers and took several hostages, military sources told the BBC.

Baloch’s liberation army (Bla) shot at Jaffar Express as he was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar.

A statement by the separatist group said he had bombarded the track before assaulting the train in Sibi’s remote district. He said the train was under his control.

Pakistani police told local journalists that at least three people, including the train driver, had been injured. Security forces have been sent to the scene, as well as helicopters to try to rescue hostages, police told the BBC.

There were reports of “intense shots” on the train, said a spokesman for the Baluchistan government to the local newspaper Dawn. A high police officer said “remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains,” reports the AFP news agency.

Baloch’s liberation army has warned about “serious consequences” if trying to rescue those who are holding.

He has fought an insurgency of decades to obtain independence and has launched numerous mortal attacks, often attacking police stations, railway lines and roads. The Pakistani authorities, as well as several Western countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have designated Bla as a terrorist organization.

Quetta’s railroad controller Muhammad Kashif told the BBC that 400-450 passengers had been reserved on the train. The authorities have not confirmed how many believe they have been taken as hostages.

The railway officials in Quetta, citing paramilitary sources, told the BBC that women and children had landed from the train and walked to the city of Sibi. They did not have an exact number.

Meanwhile, passenger families try to obtain information from the counter at the Quetta train station.

The son of a passenger, Muhammad Ashraf, who left Quetta towards Lahore on Tuesday morning, told BBC Urdu that he had not been able to contact his father. Authorities say they have not yet communicated with someone on the train.

The area does not have the Internet and mobile network coverage, officials said to the BBC.

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

Additional reports by USMAN ZAHID AND BBC URDU