Pakistan army says operation against militants who hijacked train has ended, 21 hostages killed

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football League (PFL) on Wednesday announced a cash prize of Rs1 million [$3,573] and a “prominent position” in the league for struggling footballer Muhammad Riaz, who made headlines recently after a video of him selling a popular street to make ends meet went viral on social media. 
The announcement came days after Riaz, who represented Pakistan in the 2018 Asian Games, was seen in a video frying popular street snacks jalebis in the northwestern city of Hangu. The video went viral online, with netizens criticizing the government and sports bodies for ignoring the footballer. 
Sports athletes in the subcontinent, including Pakistan, usually come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds before becoming household names overnight and attaining financial success. 
“I on behalf of PFL would like to reward Muhammad Riaz with a prize money of Rs1 million and a prominent position in PFL as he is not only an excellent player but has also represented Pakistan at the global fronts on the soccer field,” the league quoted PFL Chairman Farhan Junejo as saying in a statement.
“And such amazing talent deserves all the support we can offer in our maximum capacity“
The PFL is a franchise league that says it is driven by a UK-based company with foreign investment solely committed to uplifting football from the grassroots to a professional level in Pakistan.
PFL said it took notice of the viral video and established contact with Riaz, describing him as a “prime example” of thousands of talented footballers who are forced to quit their profession due to financial constraints.
“PFL remains committed in its objective to revive football in Pakistan and provide international training for all other footballers like Riaz,” the league said.
Riaz thanked the PFL for recognizing the hardships he had to deal with following the previous government’s decision to suspend departmental sports.
“I am thankful to PFL for providing me an opportunity to showcase my lost love for football and ensure that I will be working together with PFL to make sure no other player remains neglected,” Riaz was quoted as saying. 
The PFL said it would also make arrangements to provide Riaz training as per international standards to ensure football talent in the country doesn’t go unnoticed.
It added that PFL would also offer free football kits and training facilities to footballers in Hangu.
The plight of football in Pakistan is a tale of unfulfilled potential, administrative chaos and lack of investment. Despite a passionate fan base and a pool of talented players, the sport has suffered due to mismanagement by governing bodies, political interference and inadequate infrastructure. 
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been marred by internal disputes and FIFA suspensions which have hindered the development of the game at all levels.

QUETTA: An armed operation by Pakistan’s security forces against militants in southwestern Pakistan has entered its “final stages,” a security official with direct knowledge of the development said on Wednesday, amid efforts to rescue hundreds of people taken hostage by separatists who hijacked a train a day earlier.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, an area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The group said on Tuesday night it was holding 214 people as hostages, including military, police and intelligence officials, while a security official said 190 passengers had been rescued by Wednesday afternoon. 
The province has been the site of a low-level separatist insurgency for decades, with separatist groups accusing the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. They say security forces routinely abduct, torture, and execute ethnic Baloch, allegations echoed by human rights campaigners. Government officials and security forces strongly deny violating human rights and say they are uplifting the province through development projects, including multi-billion-dollar schemes funded by China.

The security official with direct knowledge of the ongoing rescue operation to take back control of the train and free hostages earlier said at least 30 militants had been killed. He said there were suicide bombers aboard the train, who were using women and children as “human shields,” due to which security forces were exercising “extreme caution.”
“Security forces’ operation against terrorists has entered its final stages,” the official said. “A large number of hostages, including women and children, who were being used as human shields have been rescued.”
The official said all militants at the scene had been killed, adding that the number of passengers who had died was being determined. 

Meanwhile, the BLA said Pakistan’s security forces launched an armed advance using “heavy artillery and sophisticated weaponry,” leading to intense clashes between both sides. 
The BLA said in retaliation it executed 50 additional captive enemy personnel, adding that it has so far killed over 100 “enemy personnel” since Tuesday. The military has not responded to the banned outfit’s claims. 
The BLA said it has approximately 150 hostages under its custody, warning security forces that they will be executed immediately if the military launches another operation. 
The official had earlier said that the militants were in touch with their “handlers” in Afghanistan, echoing a common accusation by Pakistani security and government officials that a recent spike in militancy was being orchestrated from the neighboring country. 

The Taliban rulers in Kabul deny they allow Afghan soil to be used by insurgents to plan or carry out terror attacks.
ARMY TAKES CONTROL OF RAILWAY STATION 
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, an Arab News eyewitness described seeing dozens of empty coffins being brought to the Quetta Railway Station in the provincial capital. He said the station was overrun with army personnel while dozens of family members of hostages had arrived in search of their loved ones. These included the family of Amjad Yasin, the 50-year-old driver of the Jaffar Express, who officials said on Tuesday had been killed in the assault. 
“We have been contacting railway officials since yesterday, but no one is telling the truth,” Amir Yasin, the driver’s younger brother, told Arab News. 
“There are multiple reports coming about my brother’s death but how can we believe it until we see his body?” 

Ghulam Muhammad Sumroo, a railway official, told Arab News 16 passengers, including two injured Railway Police officers, had reached Mach Railway Station and were being moved to Quetta, the provincial capital.
Muhammad Abid, a railway employee who was on the train and arrived at Mach Station, described the attack as the most “horrific day” of his life.
“We were sitting in one of the compartments of Jaffar Express when a powerful explosion targeted the train and intense firing started,” he told Arab News over the phone. 
“We hid in the washrooms with other passengers, but then armed men came in and off boarded us from the train,” he added. “After checking our identity cards, they asked us to run on the track. My life flashed before my eyes when I saw dozens of armed men standing on the railway track.”

Muhammad Ashraf, a 68-year-old passenger traveling to Hafizabad in Punjab to meet his daughter, said that when the train departed from Paneer Railway Station, he heard an explosion about seven to eight kilometers into the journey, followed by intense gunfire, saying many people had been killed and injured.
“Armed men boarded the train and asked everyone to leave the train or prepare to die,” he told Arab News, adding that the militants made the passengers walk on the tracks for three and a half hours on foot.
Ashraf said the militants had detained over 200 passengers, in his rough estimate.