Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, has revealed details of the Jaffer Express operation, stating that 26 people were martyred, including 18 personnel from the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps (FC), and three from the railway staff.
During a press conference alongside Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, he explained that before attacking the train, the terrorists targeted an FC post, killing three personnel at the checkpoint, one FC soldier died in a firing incident, and another on the train.
He confirmed that the terrorists did not take any hostages with them and were in contact with handlers in Afghanistan, from where they also received weapons. Security forces continue to clear the area, including multiple caves, he said.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif stated that the incident occurred in a remote mountainous region without mobile signals. An FC checkpoint was nearby, where three FC soldiers were initially martyred. The terrorists kept women inside the train while taking other passengers outside in groups. He accused Indian media of spreading propaganda using artificial intelligence (AI) during the operation, showing fake and old footage.
He provided a timeline of the attack, revealing that the first explosion occurred on March 11 at around 1 PM. The terrorists remained in contact with their masterminds in Afghanistan during the incident. Security forces launched a counter-operation on the morning of March 12, forcing the terrorists to flee.
According to the DG ISPR hostess is better released in 3 phases. The first group was released by the terrorists based on ethnic selection and probably also due to logistic reasons because holding large number of people was difficult. The second group manage to flee FC troops fight shots on terrorists on the morning of March 12. The third and larger group was freed by SSG commandos.
The DG ISPR praised the elite Zarrar Company for their role in the operation.He emphasized that the operation was conducted with such precision that no hostages were harmed in the operation.
A video of the rescued passengers was shown during the press conference, highlighting the successful completion of the 36-hour operation. After securing the area, the participating soldiers raised slogans of “Allahu Akbar.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack, stating that the terrorists aim to destabilize Pakistan. He accused India’s intelligence agency, RAW, of supporting these groups and criticized the previous government for releasing militants from prisons.
The Jaffer Express attack occurred on March 11, when terrorists blew up a railway track in the Bolan Pass area and took over 400 passengers hostage. By March 12, security forces had successfully rescued the hostages and killed all 33 terrorists, though the militants had already killed 21 civilians before the operation began.
