Govt announces compensation, jobs for families of Jaffar Express attack victims

• Abbasi urges political parties to unite for national security.
• Says India facilitating terror attacks in Pakistan via Afghanistan.
• India spending billions to destabilise Pakistan, says minister.  

Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi on Saturday announced a compensation package of Rs5.2 million and jobs in his ministry to the families of the victims of the Jaffar Express train attack in Balochistan's Bolan district.

Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan Railways Headquarters in Lahore, the minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir decided that terrorists, whether in Pakistan or those who have fled to other countries, would not be spared.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out an attack on the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express by blowing up train track and held around 440 passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security forces in a remote mountain pass.

The military, after clearing the train and rescuing hostages, said it killed 33 attackers. Before the operation began, terrorists had martyred 26 passengers, while four security personnel were martyred during the operation.

Giving a breakdown of the casualties in the incident, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday revealed that 26 martyred train passengers included 18 security personnel from the army and the FC, three officials from Pakistan Railways and other departments and five civilians.

During today's presser, the Railways minister criticised elements within Pakistan who failed to condemn the Jaffar Express attack, despite China and the United States expressing their condemnation.

He urged political parties to set aside differences and unite for national security.

The minister also accused India of supporting terrorist activities by opening 22 consulates in Afghanistan and facilitating terror attacks in Pakistan.

Abbasi said that India was spending billions to create ethnic divisions among Baloch, Pashtun and Punjabi communities, aiming to destabilise the country.

He also warned that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was being targeted by global forces because Pakistan was regaining economic strength.

Praising Pakistan’s security forces, he commended their efforts in rescuing trapped passengers after the Jaffar Express attack, calling their operation remarkable.

He revealed that suicide bombers planned to kill 427 train passengers, but the Pakistan Army’s commandos successfully neutralised them before they could detonate their explosives.

He noted that such a high number of suicide bombers had never been seen before in Quetta, urging the entire nation to unite.

He warned that those who betray their country must face the consequences. The minister stressed the need for political unity in the face of national security threats.

Abbasi also announced plans to upgrade railway stations, including the installation of surveillance cameras and improvements in cargo transport.