Pakistan lodges formal protest with Kabul over train hijacking in Balochistan

Islamabad: Pakistan formally lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan over the use of its soil in the recent train hijacking in the restive Balochistan by Balochistan Liberation Army militants in which 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed.

The Express Tribune reported quoting sources that a senior Afghan diplomat was summoned to the Foreign Office on Monday to register the protest.

However, there was no official statement from the FO about the summoning of the Afghan diplomat.

On March 11, terrorists attacked and hijacked the Jaffar Express at Bolan Pass, holding over 400 passengers hostage for 30 hours. The train was en route from Quetta to Peshawar.

Pakistani security forces, backed by the Air Force and elite army commandos, successfully rescued over 350 passengers.

However, authorities confirmed that terrorists killed 25 passengers before the operation commenced. All 33 attackers were killed during the operation.

Following the attack, Pakistan stated that it had found evidence indicating the attackers were in constant contact with their handlers in Afghanistan. The FO subsequently urged the Taliban government to assist in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

According to sources, the same message was conveyed to the Afghan diplomat during Monday's meeting.

The Afghan Taliban, however, rejected Pakistan's allegations, asserting that Baloch terrorist groups were not operating from Afghan territory and had no links to Kabul.

However, a recent United Nations Security Council monitoring report pointed to a close nexus between the Afghanistan-based banned TTP and the BLA – the latter having claimed responsibility for the train attack.

Sources also revealed that the FO raised concerns over the involvement of Afghan nationals in the recent attack on Bannu Cantonment, according to the newspaper.