Families of Pakistani military personnel reportedly killed in the recent Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) attack on the Jaffar Express have called on the Pakistan Army to hand over the bodies of their loved ones or provide confirmation of their status.
The attack took place on March 11, when BLA fighters hijacked the Jaffar Express as it travelled from Quetta to Peshawar. The train was reportedly carrying nearly 400 passengers, including women, children, and security personnel.
According to a statement issued by the BLA, the group initially detained several hundred people but later released all women, children, elderly, and Baloch passengers. The BLA said it only held those it described as “serving personnel of the occupying forces.”
The group claimed it had taken 214 military personnel hostage, identifying them as members of the Pakistan Army, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and other security agencies. It classified these soldiers as “prisoners of war” and issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the “unconditional release of Baloch political prisoners, forcibly disappeared persons, and national resistance activists.”
On March 14, the BLA announced it had executed all 214 military hostages after the Pakistani state “refused to negotiate.” In its statement, the group accused Islamabad of ignoring their demands and showing “military arrogance,”resulting in what it called a “tragic but inevitable outcome.”
However, during a press conference, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said 26 personnel were killed in the attack and that their identities had been confirmed.
The families of missing servicemen have since questioned the military’s figure, stating that their loved ones were aboard the train and are now unaccounted for. With no clear response from the army or ISPR, relatives say their concerns are growing.
“We just want the truth,” one family member said. “If our sons have been killed, we demand that their bodies be returned. If they are alive, we want proof of life.”
The BLA, meanwhile, has also accused the Pakistani military of downplaying casualties to avoid public backlash and to conceal the true scale of its losses during the operation.