Islamabad (TDI): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said that Pakistan had evidence of calls related to the Jaffar Express hijacking incident being traced to Afghanistan but reaffirmed that it was India that was trying to “destabilize its neighboring countries”.
The hijack occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers, was ambushed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants.
They opened fire on the train and held the passengers hostage, prompting the security forces to launch an operation that lasted two days.
On Wednesday evening, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that the operation had been concluded, with 33 militants present at the site of the attack killed.
He also confirmed that 21 passengers and four Frontier Corps personnel martyred in the hijacking, but no hostages were harmed during the final rescue phase.
During a weekly media briefing today, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan was questioned whether Pakistan had a shift in stance from India to Afghanistan over involvement in terrorist attacks on Pakistan.
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In response, he said that there is no shift in our policy. And again, the facts have not changed. New Delhi is involved in sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan.
“What I was referring to was, in this particular incident, we have evidence of calls being traced to Afghanistan. This is what I said.”
He added that Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism that was planned, orchestrated and sponsored by forces who were operating outside the country’s borders.
“In our region, unfortunately, there are many forces against peace who do not want to see Pakistan get the benefits of its extraordinary and sincere efforts in counter-terrorism and in building a peaceful region,“ he said.
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The spokesperson added that the terrorist attack against Jaffar Express was also planned and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from abroad.
“Our security forces successfully nutralized all 33 terrorists, including suicide bombers, while rescuing the hostages,” Khan said.
“Terrorists were in direct communications with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the incident,” he said.
