The Baloch insurgents, who hijacked a train and took over 200 passengers hostage, claimed on Monday that they had executed 50 hostages in response to the Pakistan Army's offensive against them. They warned that Pakistan has 20 hours to secure the remaining hostages by calling off the military operation and releasing Baloch prisoners.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the train on Tuesday after blowing up the tracks and opening fire on the Quetta-Peshawar Jaffar Express in a remote area of the restive Balochistan province. The train was carrying around 500 passengers, and the attackers took 212 of them hostage.
"Earlier, in response to last night’s Pakistani drone strike, 10 enemy personnel were executed. Additionally, in today’s clashes, another 10 Pakistani soldiers were eliminated, while 30 were killed in combat yesterday. This brings the total number of eliminated enemy personnel to over 100, while approximately 150 more hostages remain under BLA custody," the insurgents said in its latest statement.
The BLA, issued a "final and unequivocal warning", saying "if the occupying military initiates another act of aggression, all remaining hostages will be executed immediately".
According to the insurgents, all the hostages in their custody are personnel from Pakistan's Army, police, Frontier Corps, and other security forces.
Hours after hijacking the train on Tuesday, the militants demanded the release of Bloch prisoners and warned that they would execute all hostages if any military action was taken. Earlier today, the insurgents stated that the hostages would be tried for "state atrocities, colonial occupation, genocide, exploitation, and involvement in war crimes in Balochistan" if the army fails to respond to their demands within 24 hours.
Source: India Today
