All 33 terrorists engaged in the Jaffar Express hijacking were killed by troops, marking the end of the operation: ISPR

RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD/QUETTA: Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), announced on Wednesday the “successful completion” of the clearance operation that was started the day before for the “safe retrieval of passengers” following the historic terrorist hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan’s Bolan Pass. He also stated that all 33 terrorists at the scene of the attack had been killed.

“All thirty-three terrorists have been condemned to damnation. In an interview with a private news station, Lt Gen Chaudhry stated, “During the clearance operation, four Frontier Corps personnel accepted martyrdom.” He did, however, clarify that the terrorists had killed 21 people before to the clearing operation.

“Railway officials and security sources” claim that on March 11, terrorists attacked a train track in Bolan Pass at approximately 1pm and detonated it, stopping the Jaffar Express, which was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar with 440 passengers on board.

DG ISPR Lt-Gen Chaudhry made no mention of the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army’s (BLA) claim of responsibility for the attack.

“All hostage passengers were recovered as this operation was conducted with great skill and care since terrorists were using them as human shields,” the ISPR DG added, providing further details of the “final clearance operation” on Wednesday.

According to Chaudhry, the captives were retrieved by the Special Services Group, Frontier Corps (FC), army, and air force.

He claimed that because the scene of the event was remote from both road networks and civilization, it was challenging to get there.

Women and children were among the hostages that the terrorists exploited as human shields. “The recovery operation was initiated right away,” he continued.

During the operation, these terrorists used satellite phones to communicate with their masterminds and sympathizers in Afghanistan. The procedure went on sporadically, he added. “You saw that about 100 passengers were safely rescued from the terrorists yesterday evening, and a large number of passengers have been recovered today as well,” he said.

The ISPR said, “Yes, all present terrorists there have been sent to hell and their total number was 33,” when asked if he was confirming the operation’s conclusion with all terrorists dead.

Lt-Gen Chaudhry said that one FC soldier was killed during yesterday’s operation, and three FC troops who were on the railway picket were also killed.

According to the head of the military’s media wing, the bomb disposal unit was carrying out additional clearance and examining the train and its surroundings in accordance with routine operating protocols.
He added they were also gathering the captive passengers who had escaped to the nearby region during the operation.

Because of their false beliefs, directives, and assistance to foreign rulers, no one should be allowed to subject innocent Pakistanis to their savagery on the streets, in buses, trains, or marketplaces.

“I want to make absolutely clear: anybody does this will be found and prosecuted. Let me add that the Jaffar Express event modifies the game’s regulations.

He claimed that Islam, Pakistan, and Balochistan had nothing to do with the terrorists.

Pointing to three black blots or blobs on the screen, he showed a monochrome drone video of the event and said that these were the groups of passengers they had gathered.

He said that the reason for the military’s “slow and careful” movement was because “suicide bombers were sitting amid the passengers’ groups, as well as next to them.”

According to him, the passengers escaped to neighboring locations after the operation commanders eliminated these suicide bombers during today’s practice.
The action group then entered the train, took out the suicide bombers inside, and started clearing it out bogey by bogie, according to Lt Gen Chaudhry.

“Some people are putting their desire for power ahead of the interests of the nation.”

In the wake of the attack, the DG ISPR criticized the spread of false information on social media and online, especially from India, claiming that it clearly showed the “nexus between the terrorists and their masters to the whole world.”

“It’s interesting that certain political elements in Pakistan also actively participate in these activities and mobilize their social media [teams], and rather than supporting the government, they can be seen generating irrational explanations and justifications for this heinous act of terrorism,” he added.

“Unfortunately, some elements are putting their desire for political power ahead of the interests of the country,” he stated.

But Chaudhry claimed that the astute population was not only watching and comprehending what was happening, but also identifying the powers behind “this anarchic politics.”

The DG ISPR said that law enforcement and intelligence agencies were conducting more than 160 operations against terrorism every day when asked about criticism of security institutions for having misaligned priorities.