Pakistan: Jaffar Express Targeted in Another Blast, Seven Injured

Quetta — At least seven people were injured after a blast targeted the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express in Shikarpur district, Sindh, on Tuesday, local authorities and media reported.

Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro said the explosion occurred on the train tracks at 8:15 a.m. (local time), approximately one kilometre from Sultan Kot railway station, according to Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn. Four of the injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, while the remaining three were admitted to Civil Hospital Shikarpur.

The train was en route to Quetta via Jacobabad. Sukkur Divisional Transport Officer Mohsin Ali Sial confirmed that passengers were being moved to nearby stations so that repair work on the train could commence.

This is not the first attack on the Jaffar Express in recent weeks. On September 24, a blast in the Spizend area of Mastung, Balochistan, injured 12 passengers, including women and children. Six bogies derailed, and one overturned on its way from Peshawar to Quetta.

The current blast comes just 10 hours after another explosion near the main track connecting Balochistan with other parts of Pakistan on September 23. Despite these attacks, trains were allowed to operate after security clearance since the tracks remained intact.

Earlier this year, the Baloch Liberation Army’s (BLA) Majeed Brigade hijacked the Jaffar Express traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, taking over 400 hostages. The standoff lasted more than 24 hours, during which the BLA claimed to have killed at least 20 abducted security personnel.

With inputs from IANS