Train operations between Quetta and the major cities of Pakistan remain suspended for over 30 hours after an explosion on the railway track in Mastung’s Dasht area derailed five carriages of the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express.
Railway officials said efforts to clear the damaged coaches and repair the track were still underway on Thursday, but the line has yet to be restored. As a result, Jaffar Express services between Quetta and Peshawar were canceled again due to security concerns.
The blast, which occurred on September 23, injured five passengers when the carriages came off the track.
The “pro-independence” armed group Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it used a remote-controlled device to target the train and claimed Pakistani army personnel were killed and injured in the explosion.
This is not the first time Jaffar Express has been targeted. The train has repeatedly come under bomb and gun attacks in Balochistan. In March this year, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the train, holding over 200 Pakistani military personnel hostage for three days. The group offered the Pakistani government an ultimatum for prisoner exchange, which the governemnt did not entertain. As a result, the BLA executed the military personnel it had held hostage.
Since that incident, Jaffar Express has faced multiple attacks, with its operations frequently disrupted when entering Balochistan.