A blast caused five bogies of the Jaffar Express to derail near Spezand town in Dasht tehsil, Mastung district of Balochistan. The incident occurred amid rising militant attacks on the province’s transport infrastructure in recent years, particularly targeting railway tracks.
Pakistan is currently grappling with a severe internal conflict. On one hand, protests are erupting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after more than 30 civilians were killed in army airstrikes yesterday. At the same time, separatist insurgent groups in Balochistan continue to strike at the Pakistani military.
In the latest series of attacks, at around 7 pm IST today, the Jaffar Express running on the Quetta–Peshawar route was targeted in Mastung district’s Dasht area, where Baloch insurgents detonated a controlled IED blast on the railway track, resulting in the derailment of five coaches. The separatist outfit, Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), has claimed responsibility, stating that its fighters carried out the controlled IED blast, killing and injuring several Pakistani army personnel.
The incident highlights the failure of Pakistani security agencies, as just a few hours earlier, soldiers deployed to clear this very stretch of track were hit by an IED attack, leaving many seriously wounded. Videos from the site show passengers being pulled from overturned coaches following the controlled explosion. Train operations on the route have been completely halted.
Issuing a statement, BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch confirmed: “This evening in the Dasht area of Mastung, the Jaffar Express was targeted with a remote-controlled IED by BRG, due to which several Pakistani soldiers were killed and injured, and five bogies derailed.” He further alleged that the Pakistani army often uses passenger trains for its own purposes and appealed to civilians to maintain distance from military personnel. BRG warned that such actions would continue until the “freedom of Balochistan” is achieved.
Past Attacks and Ongoing Threats
This derailment follows a pattern of attacks in the same region. Last month, six bogies were derailed near the same location. Just three days prior, a Quetta-bound Jaffar Express narrowly avoided disaster when a bomb exploded after the train passed near Sibi. In July, the Bolan Mail suffered an explosion on the Quetta-Sibi rail section, and in June, four bogies of the Jaffar Express were derailed in Jacobabad due to a remotely controlled explosive device, though no casualties were reported.
Train services between Quetta and the rest of Pakistan had resumed on March 27 following a suspension caused by the hijacking of a Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on March 11, which killed 21 passengers and four security personnel. The military confirmed that all 33 terrorists involved were neutralised during a two-day clearance operation.
