Train Hijacking in Balochistan Marks Sixth Global Incident, Reflecting Long History of Terrorist Attacks on Passenger Trains

Quetta:On Tuesday, the Jaffar Express, traveling from Quetta to Peshawar, was hijacked by terrorists with approximately 400 passengers on board. The terrorists took the passengers hostage, and an ongoing operation by security forces is in progress to safely free the hostages. As of now, over 100 passengers have been successfully rescued.

However, this is not the first instance of a train hijacking globally. In fact, there have been five previous hijacking incidents of passenger trains across the world. The first recorded hijacking took place in 1923 in Liancheng, China, when former soldiers of the Shanghai Green Gang hijacked a train carrying 300 passengers, including citizens from 25 Western countries and the daughter of an American senator. The hostages were later released after a ransom of $85,000 was paid.

Similarly, Indonesia’s ‘Malukan Front’ hijacked trains twice, in 1975 and 1977, demanding the establishment of a separate state in the Netherlands. In India, the first train hijacking took place in 2009 when Maoist separatists hijacked the Bhonhani-Sarajdhani Express near Jungle Mahal. In 2013, a similar incident occurred when the Jan Satyabadi Express was hijacked near Raipur, with the aim of releasing a captured Maoist leader, Hindra Singh.

The recent incident involving the Jaffar Express in Balochistan can be considered the sixth significant hijacking of a passenger train globally and the first of its kind in Pakistan.

Globally, passenger trains have not only been hijacked but have also been targeted in numerous terrorist attacks. As early as 1861, a terrorist attack on a train in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA, led to the deaths of 17 people. Over the years, numerous incidents have occurred, with train-related terrorist attacks continuing through the 20th and into the 21st century.

From 1861 to 1960, there were 31 reported incidents of trains being targeted by terrorists. Notable attacks include the 1884 terrorist attack on a train in Spain, which killed 59 people, and a series of attacks in India, the United States, and Europe during the early 1900s.

The 1920s saw attacks on trains in India that resulted in 67 deaths, and in the following decades, multiple countries, including Germany, Hungary, and Myanmar, witnessed fatal terrorist attacks on trains. By 1947, during the partition of India and Pakistan, train-related terrorism led to the deaths of thousands.

The attacks continued into the latter half of the 20th century and well into the 21st century, with countries like Russia, India, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States being frequent targets of train-related terrorism.

From 2000 to 2009, there were 29 terrorist attacks on trains in countries like the Philippines, Russia, India, and Spain, leading to nearly 1,000 fatalities. The 2010-2020 period saw further incidents in countries such as Russia, India, Belarus, China, and France, causing around 300 deaths.

This ongoing history of terrorist activities targeting passenger trains highlights the global vulnerability of rail systems and the enduring threat of terrorism to public transportation worldwide. The recent incident in Balochistan is a stark reminder of the ongoing risk posed by such attacks.