Why Pakistan's Jaffar Express has become one of Asim Munir's biggest headaches

The Baloch insurgency in Pakistan has significantly escalated since early 2025, with increasingly sophisticated operations such as the March 11 hijacking of the Jaffar Express by the Baloch Liberation Army–Jeeyand faction (BLA-J)

In yet another incident this year, a Quetta-bound Jaffar Express train was targeted on Tuesday -- resulting in several passengers being injured. This came after a blast that occurred on a railway track, which led to the derailment of four bogies of the train, according to officials cited by Pakistan-based website Dawn.

The explosion took place near Somarwah, close to Sultan Kot in Shikarpur district of Sindh. The injured were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Baloch rebel group, Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), claimed responsibility for the remote-controlled IED explosion.

"The train was attacked at a time when personnel of the occupying Pakistani Army were travelling on board. As a result of the explosion, several soldiers were killed and injured, and six coaches of the train derailed," the Baloch Republican Guards said in a statement.

"The BRG claims responsibility for this attack and declares that such operations will continue until the independence of Balochistan," it added.

Baloch terrorists targeting key Pakistani areas

The Jaffar Express, which runs between Peshawar and Quetta, has been targeted a number of times in the recent months.

Regularly used by Pakistani security forces travelling between Quetta and Punjab, the train has long been a high-value target for outfits like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

In the last two decades, BLA has been waging a low-intensity insurgency in Balochistan, relying on traditional guerrilla tactics. However, from 2018 onwards the group has been deploying suicide attacks as well as planned operations, according to a report by Times of India.

The shift in the BLA’s operational approach was first evident in August 2018, with a suicide attack on a bus carrying Chinese engineers. The incident revived the group’s Majeed Brigade, a suicide squad named after a BLA commander killed by Pakistani troops in Quetta in 2010.

Since then, the BLA has carried out multiple suicide bombings in areas such as Gwadar, Karachi, Bolan and other areas, sending the Pakistan government in a tizzy.

Baloch insurgency in Pakistan

The Baloch insurgency in Pakistan has significantly escalated since early 2025, with increasingly sophisticated operations such as the March 11 hijacking of the Jaffar Express by the Baloch Liberation Army-Jeeyand faction (BLA-J).

Over the past three years, the frequency and complexity of attacks in Balochistan have grown, fueled by multiple militant groups. While some outfits continue to mount sporadic, small-scale strikes, others have expanded their reach, carrying out daily assaults on security forces and large coordinated offensives involving dozens or even hundreds of fighters.

Since January 2025, Baloch militants have staged four suicide bombings -- using both male and female attackers -- and three major operations that briefly seized control of suburban zones.

Rising attacks on Jaffar Express

In September this year, a blast on the railway track in Dasht area of Mastung, Balochistan, destroyed one coach of Jaffar Express and derailed six others, leaving 12 passengers injured.

On August 10, four people were injured when an improvised explosive device derailed six coaches of the train in the Mastung district.

On August 4, the pilot engine sent for clearance came under gunfire near Kolpur. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the latter attack.

In June 2025, another explosion in Jacobabad district of Sindh targeted the train, derailing four coaches. No casualties were reported in that attack.

On March 11, the Jaffar Express was hijacked, resulting in the deaths of 26 people, which included security personnel. Security forces in a targeted operation killed 33 terrorists involved in attacking the train and rescued 354 hostages.

Post the hijacking incident in March, the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations said the country had “credible evidence” proving that the Jaffar Express attack was “externally sponsored by its regional adversaries”. "Pakistan has stated that it possesses credible evidence establishing that the
attack on the Jaffer Express passenger train — in which at least 30 innocent Pakistani nationals were killed and dozens taken hostage — was externally sponsored by its regional adversaries," Jawad Ajmal, a counsellor at the Pakistan Mission, said.

The frequent targeting of the Jaffar Express, one of Pakistan’s vital cross-country trains linking Peshawar and Quetta, exposes the fragility of the nation’s transport infrastructure in the face of militancy, especially in Balochistan’s adjoining regions.