Pakistan Train Hijack: What We Know About the Insurgent Group Behind the Attack

Pakistani forces have rescued 155 passengers from a hijacked train in the country’s southwest, while efforts continue to free the remaining hostages.

Militants attacked the train on Tuesday, blowing up a railway track and opening fire as it traveled from Quetta to Peshawar.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility, stating they had killed 20 Pakistani soldiers, shot down a military drone, and taken 182 hostages, according to Reuters.

The BLA, a Baloch ethnonationalist group, has fought for Balochistan’s independence since the early 2000s. Pakistan banned it in 2006, and the U.S. designated it a terrorist organisation in 2019.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, remained independent until 1948 when its main tribal leader reluctantly joined Pakistan under pressure.

Calls for independence have persisted, fueling decades-long insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives. Pakistan has accused India of backing Baloch rebels, a charge India denies.