Quetta: The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has allegedly claimed to have executed 50 of the over 200 hostages held by it since Tuesday evening. According to sources in Islamabad, the rebels have said that all of those executed are soldiers, and has given the Pakistani government 20 more hours to arrive at the negotiations table.
The BLA hijacked the Jaffar Express, a train between Quetta and Peshawar, in an extremely remote part of Pakistan’s Balochistan Province on Tuesday evening. The train had nearly 450 passengers.
The Balochi rebels had initially claimed that 30 Pakistani soldiers were gunned down during the hijacking. There has been no confirmation of this though. The BLA also gave the Pakistan government 48 hours to release its members and other Balochi youths from prison. Security forces carried out nightlong operations, supported by helicopters and drones, and rescued 190 hostages. The government also claimed that it eliminated 27 rebels, something that the BLA denied.
The BLA later released a video of the explosion that caused the train to stop near a tunnel. The hijacking took place after that.
According to a senior official associated with the rescue operations, BLA rebels have been spotted moving around the train with suicide vests. This is a matter of concern, he said, as an explosion within the confines of a train coach can kill dozens of innocent people. Authorities have also not written off the possibility of the BLA having moved some hostages to the nearby hills, where it has bases.
On Wednesday evening, the BLA is said to have sent a message to the authorities, indicating that only 20 more hours remain before they execute the hostages. At the same time, the outfit claimed that it has already executed 50 soldiers and would not hesitate to kill more, unless their demands are met within 20 hours.
The Balochis also refuted the claim by security forces of having rescued people. According to the rebels, they allowed women, children and the elderly to leave. Those with medical conditions were also let off, they said.