Pakistan's transnational train service resumes, two weeks after deadly attack and hijack

Record ID: 1986656

  • Title: Pakistan's transnational train service resumes, two weeks after deadly attack and hijack
  • Date: 27th March 2025
  • Summary: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (MARCH 27, 2025) (REUTERS) LOCOMOTIVE OF JAFFAR EXPRESS ADORNED WITH BALLOONS AND STREAMERS JAFFAR EXPRESS DEPARTING FROM PESHAWAR CANTONMENT RAILWAY STATION RAILWAY WORKER STANDING AT FRONT OF LOCOMOTIVE HOLDING PAKISTAN FLAG / FEDERAL MINISTER FOR KASHMIR AFFAIRS AND GILGIT BALTISTAN, AMIR MUQAM, STANDING ON PLATFORM WITH ENTOURAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) F
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Army BLA Jaffar Express Pakistan Train attack transnational
  • Location: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN
  • City: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA001201227032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Pakistan’s transnational train service, the Jaffar Express, resumed operations on Thursday (March 27) after a 16-day suspension, following a deadly attack and hijack in Balochistan province on March 11.
    On Thursday, the train departed from Peshawar in the north, and was bound for the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan. The locomotive of the Jaffar Express was adorned with Pakistan’s national flag, balloons and streamers to mark the occasion.
    The almost 34-hour cross-country Jaffar Express is the only rail service that passes through all four provinces of Pakistan, making it a vital transportation link for the country.
    On March 11, separatists blew up rail tracks and opened fire on the Jaffar Express as it made its way from Quetta to Peshawar. The armed insurgent group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the largest of the region's armed ethnic groups battling the government, claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 21 hostages and four security troops. Pakistani security forces killed all 33 attackers after a day-long standoff.
    (Production: Ahmad Awan, Salah Uddin, Yawar Afzal Malik)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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