Pakistan's Jaffar Express Targeted for Seventh Time This Year; BRG Claims Responsibility

A militant group operating in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province claimed responsibility today, for a powerful explosion that derailed multiple coaches of the Jaffar Express passenger train, injuring at least four people. The Balochistan Republican Guards (BRG) asserted in a social media statement that the attack was a targeted strike against Pakistani army personnel aboard the train, highlighting ongoing insurgent grievances in the resource-rich but underdeveloped region. The incident, which occurred near the village of Sultan Kot between Shikarpur and Jacobabad districts in Sindh province, underscores the persistent security challenges along key transport routes in southern Pakistan.

The Jaffar Express, a vital daily service connecting the Balochistan capital of Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was en route northward when a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) detonated beneath the tracks around midday. Local authorities reported that the blast damaged a section of the rail line, causing several coaches to derail and halting operations on the vital artery.

Rescue teams swiftly responded, evacuating passengers and providing medical aid to the injured, who suffered minor wounds from the jolt and debris. Train services were suspended pending repairs, with alternative road transport arranged for stranded travellers. The BRG claimed the explosion derailed six coaches and inflicted casualties on soldiers, though official reports confirmed only civilian injuries.

Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province by area but home to just 5% of the population, has been a hotspot for separatist violence since the 1948 integration with Pakistan, fuelled by demands for greater autonomy and a share of mineral wealth from gas fields and the Gwadar port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The BRG, an emerging faction among Baloch nationalist groups like the more prominent Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), frequently targets symbols of state authority, including military convoys and infrastructure.

The Jaffar Express has emerged as a recurring flashpoint, with similar assaults in 2023 at the same location and a deadly BLA hijacking in March 2025, reflecting militants' strategy to disrupt logistics and draw attention to their cause.

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Pakistani officials, including Shikarpur police, verified the IED's use and initiated a security sweep of the area, vowing to pursue the perpetrators. No group beyond the BRG has claimed involvement, and the military has yet to issue a formal statement. As repair crews worked through the evening, the attack prompted heightened alerts along rail corridors, amid broader concerns over escalating militancy that has claimed over 500 lives in Balochistan this year alone.

With federal elections looming in 2026, the incident amplifies calls for dialogue and development to address underlying ethnic and economic tensions in the province.

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