Addressing the press conference, Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that terrorists targetted the Jaffar Express on a challenging route, making it hard for security forces to access the location. He added that the railway track was blown up using IEDs.
The ISPR Director General revealed that women and children were kept inside the train, while others were taken out and forced to sit on the ground. He stated that international warfare, particularly led by Indian media, supported the terrorists, who used fake videos as propaganda.
He further said that Indian media falsely portrayed the train as burning and reinforced the terrorists narrative by airing AI-generated images and videos provided by terrorist groups. He berated the Indian media for using outdated social media footage to mislead the public.
He disclosed that the terrorists, during the attack, maintained communication with their handlers in Afghanistan. When the SSG snipers diverted the terrorists attention, some hostages managed to escape. Among the terrorists were suicide bombers, and SSG commandos successfully cleared the train’s engine and all carriages.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif emphasised that the entire operation was executed with skill, caution, and professionalism. Tragically, some passengers were martyred by terrorists to spread fear. A commando from the Zarrar Company was injured by sniper fire from the mountains. A deceased terrorist was found with foreign-made weapons.
Balochistan Chief Minister Bugti condemned the terror attack, and commended the role of Pakistan Army for safely rescuing the hostages.
"I pay tribute to security forces for the successful operation," he said.
CM Bugti said few terrorists had dishonoured the Baloch traditions. He further said that such elements wanted to make the country unstable.
Addressing the press conference, the ISPR DG said Indian media launched the social media warfare in support of terrorists when the attack took place. Berating Indian media, he said AI-generated videos were used to glamorise the attack on innocent citizens by terrorists.
As many as 33 terrorists were killed and 25 people, four security personnel among them, were martyred in the brazen gun and bomb attack on the Jaffar Express which was on its way to Peshawar from Quetta.
