Pakistan is frequently the subject of international scrutiny, typically due to adverse circumstances, with terrorism being the most prominent concern. On 11 March 2025, the country experienced one of its most severe insurgent assaults in recent history, as Baloch separatists intercepted, attacked, and seized control of a passenger train travelling through the remote Bolan region of Balochistan. This act endangered over 450 passengers, the majority of whom were off-duty military personnel and their families, highlighting both the growing sophistication of insurgent operations and the persistent deficiencies within Pakistan’s security framework.

According to reports, on 11 March, the Jaffar Express, travelling from Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was ambushed by militants of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as it emerged from the Mashkaf Tunnel in the isolated Bolan region of the province. In a premeditated action, BLA militants divided the passengers, allowing women, children, and the elderly to pass unharmed while taking off-duty Pakistani soldiers hostage.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the Pakistan Army demonstrated a delayed response, taking several hours before commencing military operations that lasted overnight. In its official statement, the military reported the neutralisation of 33 insurgents, while attributing the deaths of 21 hostages to the separatist group. However, contradicting the official narrative, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which demanded the release of their imprisoned members and Baloch political prisoners, claimed responsibility for the execution of 50 captives, directly challenging the state’s account.

In a written statement to the London-based Guardian newspaper, the BLA characterised the attack as “a direct response to Pakistan’s prolonged colonial occupation of Balochistan and the ongoing war crimes against the Baloch people". The statement further asserted that the operation aimed to dismantle the myth of the Pakistan Army’s perceived invincibility, declaring that the military’s “continued presence in Balochistan will face resolute resistance".

The incident serves as yet another indictment of the Pakistan Army’s persistent inability to quell the province’s ongoing unrest—a reflection of both its strategic ineffectiveness and the growing divide between the state and the peripheries it aims to control. Yet, in a predictable attempt at deflection, the Pakistani establishment has swiftly reverted to its usual tactic of external scapegoating, attributing blame to India and Afghanistan in an effort to divert attention from its own catastrophic security failings. This narrative, though frequently used to conceal the state’s institutional shortcomings, does little to conceal the harsh reality: an insurgency emboldened, a province in crisis, and a nation increasingly entangled in the repercussions of its own........

© News18