Quetta (Balochistan) [Pakistan], March 14 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for national unity and dialogue against terrorism in the country following the hijacking of a Jaffar Express train in Balochistan's Bolan district, the Dawn News reported.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers, was ambushed by rebels of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). They opened fire on the train and held the passengers' hostage, prompting the security forces to initiate an operation that lasted two days.
PM Shehbaz called for Pakistan's entire political leadership to sit down together with the military leadership to discuss the challenges that the country was facing.
"One challenge, in my view, is that there should have been complete unity on this [incident], but unfortunately, there is a gap," he was quoted as saying.
Earlier, in what is seen as a political reach out by the ruling PMLN government, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced that the ruling alliance was ready to invite Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to the all-parties conference on terrorism.
Speaking on Geo News, the Defence minister said: "We are ready to invite PTI to the APC, but they [PTI] should also attend the meeting unconditionally."
On Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistani military had claimed that security forces had ended the siege, killing all 33 rebels and rescuing every hostage aboard the train.
However, the Pakistani Army have not released any photographs or video of the "successful operation". The rebel BLA on the other hand claims that the ISPR was covering up defeat.
Jeeyand Baloch, spokesperson for the BLA, insisted that "the battle is still ongoing across multiple fronts."
Baloch claimed that the Pakistani army has "neither achieved victory on the battlefield nor managed to save its hostage personnel." He accused the state of "abandoning its own soldiers" and leaving them "to die as hostages."
Released passengers who reached Quetta told Pakistani media that BLA fighters voluntarily freed women, children, and elderly individuals soon after seizing the train.
The BLA has also challenged Pakistani authorities to allow independent journalists and impartial observers into the conflict zone. The group contends the army's reluctance to permit such access demonstrates its "defeat."
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