Pakistan urges Afghanistan to bring militant masterminds to justice after deadly train attack

MACH, Pakistan: The bodies of at least 25 people, including 21 hostages, killed in a train siege by separatist gunmen in Pakistan were retrieved from the site on Thursday ahead of the first funerals, officials said.

Security forces said they freed more than 340 train passengers in a two-day rescue operation that ended late on Wednesday after a separatist group bombed a remote railway track in mountainous southwest Balochistan and stormed a train with around 450 passengers on board.

The assault was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of a number of separatist groups that accuse outsiders of plundering natural resources in Balochistan near the borders with Afghanistan and Iran.

Death tolls have varied, with the military saying in an official statement that “21 innocent hostages” were killed by the militants as well as four soldiers in the rescue operation.

A railway official in Balochistan said the bodies of 25 people were transported by train away from the hostage site to the nearby town of Mach on Thursday morning.

“Deceased were identified as 19 military passengers, one police and one railway official, while four bodies are yet to be identified,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

A senior local military official overseeing operations confirmed the details.

An army official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, earlier put the military toll at 28, including 27 off-duty soldiers taken hostage.

Passengers who escaped from the siege said after walking for hours through rugged mountains to reach safety that they saw people being shot dead by militants.

The first funerals are expected to take place on Thursday.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was also expected to visit Balochistan, his office said.

“The Prime Minister expressed grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of security personnel and train passengers during the operation,” it said in a statement.

The BLA released a video of an explosion on the track followed by dozens of militants emerging from hiding places in the mountains to attack the train.

Attacks by separatist groups have soared in the past few years, mostly targeting security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province.

Muhammad Naveed, who managed to escape, told AFP: “They asked us to come out of the train one by one. They separated women and asked them to leave. They also spared elders.”

“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 laborer, 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.”

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.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his administration’s interest in bolstering bilateral trade and physical connectivity with Uzbekistan during a conversation with the envoy of the Central Asian state on Thursday, his office said in a statement.
Sharif met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent last month during a trip to the region, where both leaders set an ambitious target to increase bilateral trade from $404 million to $2 billion in the foreseeable future.
They also discussed the proposed railway project spanning approximately 573 kilometers from Termez in Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul in Afghanistan, before extending to Peshawar in Pakistan.
The project holds strategic significance for Islamabad, as it could provide direct access to Central Asian markets, boosting trade and economic integration while positioning the country as a key regional trade hub.
The issue was also raised during a meeting between Sharif and Uzbek Ambassador Alisher Tukhtaev at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad.
“The Prime Minister expressed his complete satisfaction at the excellent progress made between the two countries during his visit, which included the formation of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, as well as the signing of a number of important agreements and MOUs [memorandums of understanding] in various fields,” said a statement released by the PM Office.
“The Prime Minister said that, upon his return from Tashkent, he had tasked the concerned Ministers of relevant areas to ensure prompt follow-up on the decisions taken by the two leaders,” it added. “He particularly highlighted Pakistan’s interest in enhancing cooperation with Uzbekistan in mining & minerals, railways (including the Trans-Afghan Railway project), special economic zones, banking, tourism, culture and renewable energy.”
Sharif conveyed his warm greetings to President Mirziyoyev, expressing gratitude for the hospitality extended to him and his delegation during their visit to Tashkent.
He also underscored the need to devise a roadmap to enhance bilateral trade to $2 billion, in line with the agreement reached between the two leaders.
The Uzbek envoy reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening ties with Pakistan and transforming their political relations into mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
He also informed Sharif that President Mirziyoyev would visit Pakistan later this year, with the dates to be determined through mutual coordination between the two sides.