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The Jaffar Express, which has faced repeated attacks in recent months, escaped a bomb blast in Balochistan's Nasirabad district on Sunday, citing police and railway officials, Dawn reported.
According to police officials cited by Dawn, unidentified attackers planted an explosive device on the railway track in the Shaheed Abdul Aziz Bullo area to target the Peshawar-bound train travelling from Quetta and later detonated it. The train crossed the area safely, and no casualties were reported, the officials said. Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police Ghulam Sarwar told Dawn that police and security forces reached the site after the explosion, cordoned off the area and began an investigation. "A search operation has also been launched to trace the elements involved in the bomb attack," he said. Separately, railway officials told Dawn that a portion of the track was damaged due to the blast, suspending railway traffic between Quetta and other parts of the country. The officials added that the Jaffar Express resumed its journey to Peshawar after reaching Jacobabad in Sindh. They said operations had only resumed on Sunday after a four-day suspension due to security concerns. Balochistan has witnessed increasing attacks targeting transport infrastructure, including multiple incidents involving the Jaffar Express since March 11, when Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists ambushed the Peshawar-bound train carrying 440 passengers. Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on March 12 that the clearance operation "was complete" and all 33 attackers "had been killed." The train has since been repeatedly targeted. On June 18, a remote-controlled explosive device derailed four bogies near Jacobabad, an attack reportedly claimed by the banned Baloch Republican Guards. On August 7 near Sibi, the train narrowly escaped another explosion. Three days later on August 10 in Mastung, "a bomb attached to the railway track exploded loudly, derailing six bogies of the train," Pakistan Railways' Quetta division public relations officer Muhammad Kashif told Dawn. On September 23, at least four passengers were injured when six bogies were derailed in Mastung. On October 7, seven people were injured in Sindh's Shikarpur district when "a blast had occurred on the train tracks. Later on October 29, the Jaffar Express escaped a rocket attack in the Notal area of Nasirabad district. Nasirabad SSP Ghulam Sarwar told Dawn, "Armed men fired four rockets from a distance to target the passenger train," but none hit the coaches. (ANI)
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