- Incident comes 3 days after the train escaped a disaster in Sibi, where a bomb planted near track exploded just after it passed by
- Abbasi condemns attack, vowing such cowardly acts of terrorism would never deter the nation’s resolve
- Services of Jaffar Express and Bolan Mail suspended till August 14 due to security reasons
MASTUNG/LAHORE: Six bogies of the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express were derailed following a bomb blast on the track near Spezand in Dasht Tehsil of Mastung district, damaging the locomotive and several coaches, but no loss of life was reported, security and railways officials confirmed on Sunday.
According to Levies authorities, an explosive device planted on the railway track detonated as the train passed by, causing the engine and five bogies to derail. The sudden impact brought the passenger service to an abrupt halt.
Fortunately, no casualties were reported. Rescue teams and railway staff promptly reached the site to assist passengers and ensure their safety. Security forces quickly cordoned off the area and launched an operation against those responsible for the attack.
Muhammad Kashif, public relations officer of the Pakistan Railways’ Quetta division, informed the media that an IED attached to the railway track exploded loudly, derailing six bogies of the train. “Fortunately, there was no loss of life,” he added.
He said the incident occurred near Spezand station in Mastung’s Dasht tehsil, when the train was heading from Quetta to Peshawar City station with 350 passengers on board.
“Security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site as soon as they were alerted about the incident, and began a search operation after cordoning off the area,” Kashif said.
“Four bogies of the Jaffar Express had been placed back on the track, while efforts were underway to restore the other two,” the official noted.
A relief train of the Pakistan Railways brought the 350 passengers back to Quetta, while bogies stuck on the track will be returned to the city as well, according to a later statement from Kashif, who said that all tickets will be refunded.
In a separate statement, Kashif said the services of the Jaffar Express and Bolan Mail were suspended till August 14.
The Bolan Mail will resume its operations on August 16 (Saturday), when it will depart from Karachi “in its proper turn” and will arrive in Quetta the next day, he added.
Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi strongly condemned the attack, vowing that such cowardly acts of terrorism would never deter the nation’s resolve.
He said that the government was committed to providing safe and comfortable travel facilities to the public and a handful of terrorists could not dent this resolve.
The fresh incident comes three days after Quetta-bound Jaffar Express narrowly escaped a disaster in Balochistan’s Sibi, where a bomb planted near the track exploded just after the passenger train passed.
In another near-miss incident on July 24, a powerful explosion ripped through the Quetta-Sibi rail section, damaging a bogie of the Bolan Mail.
A July 28 derailment of the Jaffar Express train in Sindh’s Sukkur was initially attributed to an explosion — even by government-run media — but the Ministry of Railways later said a technical fault was the cause.
In June, a powerful explosion of a remotely controlled explosive device fitted to rail tracks caused four bogies of the Jaffer Express to derail in Jacobabad. No one was hurt in the incident.
In April, the 3UP train heading from Karachi to Quetta was stopped at Jacobabad railway station due to security reasons.
Train services between Quetta and the rest of the country were restored on March 27, after they were suspended due to the unprecedented hijacking of the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express earlier that month.
The train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers, was hijacked near Balochistan’s Sibi area on March 11, resulting in the deaths of 21 passengers and four security personnel. “All 33 terrorists” were neutralized during the two-day clearance operation, the military said.
