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More than 340 train passengers taken hostage by a militant group were freed Wednesday by security forces after a 30-hour siege, an army official told AFP, confirming that 27 off-duty soldiers were shot by militants. Pakistan security forces launched a rescue mission Tuesday afternoon after a separatist group bombed a railway track in mountainous southwest Balochistan and stormed a train with around 450 passengers on board. “346 hostages were freed and over 30 terrorists were killed during the operation,” an army official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.The 27 slain soldiers had been travelling on the train as passengers, the army official said. One on-duty soldier was killed in the clearance operation.The official did not give a civilian death toll, but earlier a railway official and paramedic said the train driver and a police officer had been killed.The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which released a video of an explosion on the track followed by dozens of militants emerging from hiding places in the mountains.Attacks by separatist groups who accuse outsiders of plundering natural resources in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, have soared in the past few years, mostly targeting security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province. In a statement released after claiming the assault, the BLA demanded an exchange with security forces for its imprisoned members.Passengers who escaped or were released by the militants described panic as gunmen seized control of the train, sorting through identity cards, shooting soldiers but freeing some families. “They asked us to come out of the train one by one. They separated women and asked them to leave. They also spared elders,” said Muhammad Naveed, who managed to escape. “They asked us to come outside, saying we will not be harmed. When around 185 people came outside, they chose people and shot them down.”Babar Masih, a 38-year-old Christian labourer, told AFP on Wednesday he and his family walked for hours through rugged mountains to reach a train that could take them to a makeshift hospital on a railway platform.”Our women pleaded with them, and they spared us,” he said. “They told us to get out and not look back. As we ran, I noticed many others running alongside us.”- Dozens of empty coffins -Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, said Tuesday that the 450 passengers on board had been taken hostage.An AFP photographer in Quetta, the provincial capital, witnessed about 150 empty coffins being transported by train to the incident site on Wednesday.”A large number of (paramilitary) personnel and their families were on board the Jaffar Express, travelling home for their vacations,” said a senior security official stationed in Quetta on Wednesday.He added that the coffins are “reserved for military personnel” and some civilians.”Sending 150 coffins does not necessarily mean that 150 people were killed,” he said.Several passengers told AFP that gunmen demanded to see identity cards to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA.”They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to… I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be identified.”Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he said.- Growing insurgency -Authorities restrict access to many areas of Balochistan, where China has poured billions into energy and infrastructure projects, including a major port and an airport. The BLA claims the region’s natural resources are being exploited by the state and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions, security forces and foreign infrastructure projects.The group launched coordinated overnight attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travellers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.The BLA claimed an attack in February that killed 17 paramilitary soldiers and a woman suicide bomber killed a soldier this month. “The valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation… Pakistani military generals and their Punjabi elite are looting these resources,” a BLA statement said at the time.Baloch residents regularly protest against the state, which they accuse of rounding up innocent people in its crackdown on militancy.Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan but last year saw a surge in violence in the province compared with 2023, according to the independent Center for Research and Security Studies.It found 2024 was the deadliest year for Pakistan in a decade, with violence rising along the Afghanistan border since the Taliban took back power in Kabul in 2021.Islamabad accuses its neighbour of allowing militant groups safe haven to plan and launch attacks on Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. 

Pakistan security sources said on Wednesday the military had freed 190 train passengers taken hostage by gunmen as a deadly siege in the mountainous southwest stretched through its second day.More than 450 passengers were on board when a militant separatist group captured the train in a remote frontier district of Balochistan province on Tuesday afternoon, with an unknown number of hostages still being held.”So far, 190 passengers have been rescued, and 30 terrorists have been killed. Due to the presence of women and children with suicide bombers, extreme caution is being exercised,” a security source told AFP.”The operation continues to eliminate the remaining militants.”An AFP photographer in Quetta, the provincial capital, witnessed about 150 empty coffins being transported by train to the incident site on Wednesday.The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which released a video of an explosion on the track followed by dozens of militants emerging from hiding places in the mountains and storming onto the carriages.Attacks by separatist groups who accuse outsiders of plundering natural resources in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, have soared in the past few years. The deaths of three people have been confirmed so far — the train driver, a police officer and a soldier — according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam.A security official in the area also told AFP: “Information suggests that some militants have fled, taking an unknown number of hostages into the local mountainous areas.”Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, said on Tuesday afternoon that the 450 passengers on board had been taken hostage.”A large number of (paramilitary) personnel and their families were on board the Jaffar Express, travelling home for their vacations,” said a senior security official stationed in Quetta on Wednesday.He added that the coffins are “reserved for military personnel” and some civilians.”Sending 150 coffins does not necessarily mean that 150 people were killed,” he said.Passengers who walked for hours through rugged mountains to reach safety described being set free by the militants.”Our women pleaded with them, and they spared us,” Babar Masih, a 38-year-old Christian labourer told AFP on Wednesday. “They told us to get out and not look back. As we ran, I noticed many others running alongside us.”Muhammad Bilal, who was travelling with his mother on the Jaffar Express train, described their ordeal as “terrifying”.”I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape,” he told AFP. – Outsiders identified -The BLA has staged a series of recent attacks against security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province who they accuse of benefiting from the region’s wealth.The group has demanded an exchange with security forces for its imprisoned members.Several passengers told AFP that gunmen demanded to see identity cards to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA.”They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to… I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be identified.”Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he said.Around 80 of the released passengers were taken to Quetta under “tight security”, said a police official who was not authorised to speak to the media.- Growing insurgency -Authorities restrict access to many areas of Balochistan, where China has poured billions into energy and infrastructure projects, including a major port and an airport. The BLA claims the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions, security forces and foreign infrastructure projects.The group launched coordinated overnight attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travellers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.The BLA claimed an attack in February that killed 17 paramilitary soldiers and a woman suicide bomber killed a soldier this month. “The valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation… Pakistani military generals and their Punjabi elite are looting these resources,” a BLA statement said at the time.Baloch residents regularly stage protests against the state, which they accuse of rounding up innocent people in its crackdown on militancy.Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan but last year saw a surge in violence in the province compared with 2023, according to the independent Center for Research and Security Studies.It found 2024 was the deadliest year for Pakistan in a decade, with violence rising along the Afghanistan border since the Taliban took back power in Kabul in 2021.Islamabad accuses its neighbour of allowing militant groups safe haven to plan and launch attacks on Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. 

Pakistan forces launched a “full-scale” operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest, with security sources saying 155 had been freed in the past 24 hours.More than 450 passengers were on board when militants captured the train at the entrance of a tunnel in a remote frontier district, with an unknown number of hostages still being held. “Information suggests that some militants have fled, taking an unknown number of hostages into the local mountainous areas,” a security official in the area told AFP.Militants bombed a section of the railway track and stormed the train on Tuesday afternoon in southwest Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, where attacks by separatists have been on the rise.According to security sources, the “terrorists have positioned suicide bombers right next to innocent hostage passengers”.Three people have been killed, including the train driver, during the siege in mountainous Sibi district.A security official told AFP “a full-scale operation” would aim to free the rest of the captives.”Security forces have safely rescued 155 passengers… 27 terrorists have been eliminated,” a security source said. An earlier count included at least “31 women and 15 children”.It was not immediately clear how many people remained onboard.Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in the provincial capital Quetta, told AFP on Tuesday afternoon that the 450 passengers on board had been taken hostage. Passengers freed on Tuesday described walking for hours through mountainous terrain to reach safety.”I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal, who had been travelling with his mother on the Jafar Express train, told AFP.The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group that has staged a series of daring recent attacks against security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province.The group has demanded an exchange with security forces for its imprisoned members. Authorities restrict access to some areas of Balochistan where many energy and infrastructure projects are backed by China, which has invested billions in the region including in a major port and airport.- Punjabis ‘taken away’ -The driver of the train, a police officer and a soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam.One passenger described gunmen sorting through identity cards to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA. “They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to… I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be identified, after walking four hours to the nearest train station.”Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he said.Around 80 of the released passengers were taken to the provincial capital Quetta under “tight security”, said a police official who was not authorised to speak to the media.- Growing insurgency -The BLA claim the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions.The group launched coordinated overnight attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travellers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.Punjabi and Sindhi labourers are regularly targeted in attacks, as well as security forces and foreign infrastructure projects.The BLA claimed an attack in February that killed 17 paramilitary soldiers and a woman suicide bomber killed a soldier this month. “The valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation,” a BLA statement said at the time.”Pakistani military generals and their Punjabi elite are looting these resources for their own luxury.”Baloch residents regularly stage protests against the state, which they accuse of rounding up innocent people in its crackdown on militancy.Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan but last year saw a surge in violence in the province compared with 2023, according to the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies. It found 2024 was the deadliest year for Pakistan in a decade, with violence rising along the Afghanistan border from north to south since the Taliban government took back power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan blames its neighbours for allowing militant groups safe haven to plan and launch attacks on Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. 

Thailand has sacked one of its most high-profile police officers over his alleged involvement in illegal gambling and financial fraud.Surachate Hakparn, who served as the kingdom’s deputy police chief, was formally dismissed on Tuesday, police said in a statement.Surachate, widely known by his nickname “Big Joke”, was snared in a series of raids in 2023 targeting an illegal online gambling network dubbed “Betflix”.He was charged with money laundering, which he has denied, and suspended from the force while an investigation was under way.Thai police said on Tuesday his dismissal was in line with “disciplinary procedures for officers under investigation”.Most forms of betting are illegal in Thailand, with authorities striving to shut down illicit gambling dens and websites, which are often foreign-owned.Long-serving Surachate has been linked to powerful figures in the previous army-aligned government.He was appointed by then-deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan as chief of the Immigration Bureau in September 2018.He disappeared in 2019 over unclear reasons, before then-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha made him a special adviser on strategy to police in 2021.Surachate has 30 days to appeal against his dismissal.”He has the right to fight the case and appeal,” Aek Angsananont, a former deputy police chief and now a member of the national police committee, told public broadcaster Thai PBS.Surachate’s sacking comes days after the death of ex-policeman Thitisan Utthanaphon, nicknamed “Joe Ferrari” for his taste in flash cars, who was serving life in jail for the murder of a suspect during a brutal interrogation.Last month, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra urged the Royal Thai police to step up efforts to combat human trafficking and drug-related crimes.

Pakistan security forces were set to launch a “full-scale operation” on Wednesday to free train passengers taken hostage by militants, including suicide bombers, officials said. Separatist militants bombed part of a railway track and stormed the train with more than 450 passengers on board on Tuesday afternoon, in southwest Balochistan province where violence has been rising.Dozens of hostages have been freed and three people killed, including the train driver, since the attack erupted in Sibi district.”A full-scale operation is planned for the morning to rescue the train hostages and others,” a security official in the area told AFP. The official said that forces “faced challenges due to the darkness of night”.”We are taking precautions to avoid any actions that could endanger civilian hostages,” he added.Security sources said the “terrorists have positioned suicide bombers right next to innocent hostage passengers”. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced late Tuesday that “more than 100 hostages” have been free, while security sources said those included “58 men, 31 women and 15 children”.It was not immediately clear how many people remained on the train.The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group behind rising violence in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in provincial capital Quetta, told AFP that “over 450 passengers onboard” had been taken hostage. Hostages freed on Tuesday said they had to walk for hours through mountainous terrain to reach safety.”I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal who had been travelling with his mother on the Jafar Express train, told AFP.- Punjabis ‘taken away’ -The driver of the train, a police officer and soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam, both at Mach railway station.One passenger described gunmen sorting through identity cards to confirm who was from outside of the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army. “They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to, I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be named, after walking four hours to the nearest train station.”Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he added.Around 80 of the released passengers were taken to provincial capital Quetta under “tight security”, said a police official who was not authorised to speak to the media.Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan, but violence has soared in the western border regions with Afghanistan, from north to south, since the Taliban took back power in 2021. The BLA claim the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and have increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions.In February, BLA militants killed seven Punjabi travellers after they were ordered off a bus. 

Hostages freed from a train siege in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday said they walked for hours through mountainous terrain to reach safety, forced to leave behind relatives from whom they were separated.Militants waging a war of independence against the Pakistani state set off explosions on the railway track in a remote area of Balochistan, forcing the train to a halt and taking more than 450 passengers hostage.”I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal told AFP.Bilal had been traveling with his mother on the Jafar Express train when it was caught in the explosive crossfire, leaving at least three dead, according to a railway official.More than 100 hostages have been freed from the train, which remains held up by rebel forces.”I heard an explosion followed by gunfire as militants boarded the train,” passenger Allahditta told AFP at the train station in Mach, where the waiting area has been transformed into a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded. “People began hiding under the seats in panic. The militants separated the men from the women. They allowed me and my family to go because I told them I’m a heart patient,” the 49-year-old said.- ID checks -“We walked for a long time through the mountains to reach the nearest station. I haven’t eaten since I began fasting this morning, but I still can’t bring myself to eat,” Allahditta added, in reference to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.One passenger described gunmen sorting through identity cards to confirm who was from outside of the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army, which has claimed credit for the seige. “They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to, I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be named, after walking four hours to the nearest train station.”They checked IDs and those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he added. The BLA claim the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions.Late on Tuesday, survivors walked through rugged terrain to the nearest train station and travelled to Mach, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the Iran border. The first trains carrying survivors arrived late on Tuesday evening to be met by paramilitary forces and doctors. “I am treating two (police) officers, one was shot five times, while the other was wounded in his knee,” said paramedic Qazim Farooq.

Three people were killed and around a hundred hostages freed by Pakistani troops on Tuesday after armed militants attacked a train carrying over 450 passengers in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province.It was not immediately clear how many people remained on board the train as security forces continued operations overnight.Before seizing the train Tuesday afternoon, militants blew up the railway track, forcing it to a halt in a remote area.”People began hiding under the seats in panic. The militants separated the men from the women. They allowed me and my family to go because I told them I’m a heart patient,” 49-year-old Allahditta told AFP from a makeshift hospital at the train station in Mach.”I was on the train with my father and brother when militants took us hostage. They let me go but they are still there,” added a 32-year-old woman, who asked not to be named.Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said security forces had rescued over 100 people, adding that 16 “terrorists” had been killed.Security sources told AFP that the “clearance operation is ongoing”, after reporting heavy gunfire between militants and security forces.The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group behind rising violence in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, earlier told AFP that “over 450 passengers onboard” had been taken hostage. Some of the passengers were freed by the militants and walked for hours to reach the nearest railway station, from which they boarded other trains to Mach.The driver of the train, a police officer and soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam, both at Mach railway station.- Decades-long insurgency -In a statement, the BLA said gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train. “The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage,” said the statement released to media. The incident happened around 1:00 pm (0800 GMT) in rural Sibi district, near to a city station where the train had been due to stop. The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a more than 30-hour journey — at around 9:00 am.The area is a mountainous region making it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks. Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan, which militant groups claim is being exploited by outsiders, with wealth from its natural resources syphoned off with little benefit to the local population.But violence has soared in the western border regions with Afghanistan, from north to south, since the Taliban took back power in 2021. Pakistan accuses the Taliban government in Kabul of offering safe haven to militants to plan attacks. The Taliban government denies the charge. The BLA have launched larger scale attacks in recent months, including holding a motorway overnight and identifying travellers from outside the province and shooting them dead. BLA militants also killed seven Punjabi travellers in February after they were ordered off a bus. In November, the BLA claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta’s main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks in Pakistan, mostly in the border regions, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.

Pope Francis remains stable after almost four weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, declining to speculate on when he might go home, the day after doctors indicated he was no longer in danger.The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, suffering several respiratory crises that sparked real fear for his life.But on Tuesday evening — a day after indicating that he was out of imminent danger — the Holy See said that the pope’s condition continued to be stable. “It is clear that the situation remains stable… and with these slight improvements within a framework for doctors that remains complex,” the Vatican said.On Monday, following a week of steady improvements in Francis’s condition, the Vatican said his prognosis was no longer considered “reserved”, or uncertain, meaning his life is no longer at imminent risk.But his condition remained complex and he would require hospital treatment for “several more days”, it said on Monday — with the implication that afterwards, he could go home to the Vatican.A Vatican source on Monday said that Francis still had pneumonia but confirmed there was “no imminent danger” to his life.Despite the improving scenario, the Vatican on Tuesday said that it was still unknown when exactly Francis might be released from hospital. The source denied reports that preparations were under way for Francis’s return to the Santa Marta residence.Francis missed the start of the Lent religious period last week but there are hopes he might be able to participate in celebrations for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, which culminates on April 20.- Prayers and meditation -Outside the Gemelli hospital, an employee of the Santa Marta, Simonetta Maronge, urged the pope to come home soon.”May he return to Santa Marta soon. We love him deeply and Santa Marta is empty without him,” she told AFP.The Vatican source said on Tuesday that the pope’s spirits were “good”. The press office said he had that morning prayed in the private chapel next to the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, and that he had taken part remotely in Vatican prayers and meditation.”The improvements recorded in the previous days have been further consolidated, as confirmed by blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy,” the Vatican said in a statement on Monday evening.”For these reasons, the doctors have decided today to lift their reserved prognosis,” it added, although the Vatican said Francis still would need “pharmacological treatment in a hospital setting for several more days”.- Video games -The pontiff has been doing some work off and on during his hospital stay, making calls and having occasional visitors, according to the Vatican.Several of the children being treated in Rome’s Bambino Gesu hospital, which is also run by the Vatican, sent Francis messages and drawings offering other ideas for passing the time.”Dear Pope, I suggest you get someone to give you a PlayStation,” young Alex wrote, according to the artwork released by Bambino Gesu.Pilgrims visiting Rome for the 2025 Jubilee holy year celebrations have been praying every night for the pope, while special services have been held in churches around the world.”We are praying for the pope, for his recovery and that he will soon be with us, safe and well, so he can bless us all,” Jose Ochoa, 69, from Mexico, told AFP at the Vatican.Mimmo Laundando, an Italian pensioner praying outside the Gemelli hospital, said: “I am hopeful.”Laundando added that he had always dreamt of being the pontiff’s chauffeur.Pope Francis will on Thursday mark 12 years as leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics.Despite his incipient recovery, his hospital stay — the longest and most serious of his papacy — has revived questions about his future.The Jesuit pontiff has always held open the possibility of resigning like his predecessor, the German Benedict XVI, although he also insisted he has no intention of quitting.

Pakistani troops freed dozens of train passengers taken hostage by armed militants in the country’s southwest on Tuesday, with hundreds more still being held in the deadly siege.Security sources said that heavy gunfire was ongoing between security forces and the militants.Gunmen forced the train to a halt in a remote, mountainous area of Balochistan province on Tuesday afternoon, with the assault immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group behind rising violence in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.”Security forces have successfully freed 80 hostages, including 43 men, 26 women, and 11 children, from the terrorists,” security sources told AFP, adding that 13 militants had been killed. “Efforts are ongoing to ensure the safe release of the remaining passengers. The terrorists have been surrounded, and the operation will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized.”A nearby railway station in Mach has been turned into a makeshift hospital to receive some of the wounded. The driver of the train, a police officer and soldier were all killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam, both at Mach railway station. Earlier in the day, Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, told AFP that “over 450 passengers onboard are being held hostage by gunmen.” In a statement, the BLA said gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train. “The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage,” said the statement released to media. The group “warned of severe consequences” if an attempt is made to rescue the hostages. The incident happened around 1:00 pm (0800 GMT) in rural Sibi district, near to a city station where the train had been due to stop. The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a more than 30-hour journey — at around 9:00 am.A senior police official from the area bordering Sibi, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that “the train remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains”.An emergency has been imposed at hospitals in Sibi, according to the government official.- Decades-long insurgency -The area is a mountainous region making it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks. Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan, which militant groups claim is being exploited by outsiders, with wealth from its natural resources syphoned off with little benefit to the local population.But violence has soared in the western border regions with Afghanistan, from north to south, since the Taliban took back power in 2021. Pakistan accuses the Taliban government in Kabul of offering safe haven to militants to plan attacks. The Taliban government denies the charge. The BLA have launched larger scale attacks in recent months, including holding a motorway overnight and identifying travellers from outside the province and shooting them dead. BLA militants also killed seven Punjabi travellers in February after they were ordered off a bus. In November, the BLA claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta’s main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks in Pakistan, mostly in the border regions, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.

Armed militants held hundreds of train passengers hostage on Tuesday in an ongoing siege claimed by a separatist group behind rising violence in southwestern Pakistan. The militants wounded the driver as they took control of the train in a remote, mountainous area of Balochistan province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.”Over 450 passengers onboard are being held hostage by gunmen,” Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, told AFP.”Passengers include women and children,” he added.The attack was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) which is fighting for independence and accuses outsiders of profiting from the region’s wealth. In a statement, it said gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train. “The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage,” said the statement released to media. The group “warned of severe consequences” if an attempt is made to rescue the hostages. Pakistani sources who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity said an operation “to eliminate the terrorists is ongoing with extreme caution due to the difficult terrain”, adding that women and children are “being used as human shields”.The incident happened around 1:00 pm (0800 GMT) in rural Sibi district, near to a city station where it had been due to stop. “A passenger train called the Jaffar Express was stopped by armed militants,” said a senior government official in Sibi, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.”The passengers are being held hostage, and the driver has been injured.”The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a more than 30-hour journey — at around 9:00 am.A senior police official from the area bordering Sibi, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that “the train remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains”.An emergency has been imposed at hospitals in Sibi, according to the government official.- Decades-long insurgency -The area is a mountainous region making it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks. Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan, which militant groups claim is being exploited by outsiders, with wealth from its natural resources syphoned off with little benefit to the local population.Violence has soared in the western border regions with Afghanistan, from north to south, since the Taliban took back power in 2021. More than 1,600 people were killed in attacks in Pakistan in 2024 — the deadliest year in almost a decade — according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.BLA militants killed seven Punjabi travellers in February after they were ordered off a bus. At least 39 people were killed in coordinated attacks last year that largely targeted ethnic Punjabis. In November, the BLA claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta’s main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.