BLA Hijacks Train in Pakistan

Pakistan has been caught under its own weight of terrorism that it has been using as a state policy against India in Jammu and Kashmir. Baloch freedom fighters have hijacked the train Jaffar Express that was traveling from Quetta in Pakistan’s South-Western Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) that is working for the independence of Balochistan from the tyranny of Pakistan against its people has claimed that it has hijacked the train and has killed nearly twenty military personnel. The BLA has said in its statement that after capturing the Jaffar Express, the fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have taken 182 hostages who have been in our custody from the past six hours. During this operation, an additional eight Pakistani military personnel were eliminated, bringing the total number of Pakistani casualties to twenty. In their statement the BLA has claimed that not a single fighter of the rebels has been injured or martyred. The BLA has claimed that all the hostages are in the custody of its fidayeen unit (suicide squad), Majeed Brigade. They have issued clear instruction to their fidayeen unit that if the Pakistan military attempts to approach the hostages then it will execute them and the fidayeen unit will continue their struggle till martyrdom. It is pertinent to mention that Jaffar Express has always been on the radar of the BLA as it ferries military personnel and government officials. Balochis have been carrying on their freedom struggle for nearly seven decades to get freedom from Pakistan. Pakistan has been exploiting the land and mineral resources of Balochistan without accruing any economic benefits to the indigenous Balochis. The objective of taking the Jaffar Express passengers hostage is to seek the exchange of Baloch leaders, freedom fighters and people who are in Pakistan’s custody. Pakistan has been offering the land and mineral resources to China and allowing it to execute various projects. It is a regular phenomenon now that Baloch freedom fighters have been targeting the Chinese and Pakistani professionals working on various projects in Balochistan. Balochis have always offered resistance to the Chinese presence in their land. Pakistan has been misusing the international platforms to justify its policy of state sponsored terrorism against India in Jammu and Kashmir but has never uttered a word about state sponsored human rights violation it inflicts on Balochis in Balochistan and not allowing them the right to self-determination. It has martyred numberless Balochis and leased over the land of Balochistan to the Chinese. Pakistan has been indulging in wholesale human rights violation of Balochis for more than seven decades and causing immense suffering to this province. The international community must intervene and ask Pakistan to stop human rights violations in Balochistan. Pakistan is not only exporting terrorism but also state sponsored terrorism against Balochis. Pakistan’s unrestrained use of terrorism will create new challenges in South Asia and the immediate neighbourhood of India. As such India will have to be vigilant and keep an eye on the developments in Pakistan. The Pakistan Army has been using terror and violence to control the political establishment. Rawalpindi dictates Pakistan’s internal and external policy that is devoid of democracy. The economic crisis has already eclipsed Pakistan. India has to be on vigil as whenever Pakistan faces internal challenges to maintain stability, It uses propaganda mills to divert the attention from its internal crisis by pointing fingers towards India. India must use its statesmanship to outwit Pakistan in its game of subversion to expose its duplicity on human rights.