Hand grenades recovered from Jaffar Express coaches

Hand grenades were found in three coaches of the Jaffar Express, a train that had been targeted in a terrorist attack last week.

According to the police, the coaches of Jaffar Express were brought to Quetta Railway Station last night, where four hand grenades were discovered in three of the coaches. One grenade has been defused, while the others are being rendered safe.

Railway sources report that the coaches, which were brought late last night, have been moved to the Railway Loco Shed, where they will be repaired.

On the other hand, Jaffar Express, scheduled to depart from Quetta to Peshawar, will not leave tomorrow. The train’s repairs are still incomplete, and cleaning tasks are also pending. According to railway control, the train will only depart once the repair and cleaning work is fully completed.

The Jaffar Express was attacked while travelling through Balochistan’s Bolan Pass. The train was hijacked, and the terrorists held several passengers hostage inside a tunnel. A coordinated rescue operation by security forces followed, resulting in the liberation of hostages.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, confirmed that no passengers were harmed during the clearance operation carried out by security forces after terrorists hijacked the Jaffar Express in Bolan district, Balochistan.

“All 33 terrorists have been sent to hell…. Four Frontier Corps personnel embraced martyrdom during the clearance operation,” said Lt Gen Chaudhry in an interview with a private news channel. However, he added, before the clearance operation, 21 passengers were martyred by the terrorists.

“No one can be permitted to make innocent people of Pakistan the victim of their barbarism in the streets, trains, buses or markets because of their misleading ideology,” DG ISPR said.

“Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffer Express changes the rules of the game,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Balochistan has ordered the closure of three universities in the province due to security concerns. Two universities in the provincial capital, Quetta, were shut indefinitely last week, while a third switched to virtual learning on Tuesday, according to a provincial administration official, who requested anonymity.