The Baloch Liberation Army group previously claimed responsibility for the siege, saying it was open to negotiations to swap prisoners
The hijackers of a passenger train in Pakistan have threatened to start “punishing” five hostages every hour if their demands are not met.
Yesterday, a group of militants boarded the Jaffar Express train as it went through a tunnel in the mountainous Bolan region in Balochistan province, Pakistan, taking hundreds of passengers into their custody.
Shortly after, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) group claimed responsibility for the siege, adding a number of demands, including the swapping of its prisoners from Pakistani jails.
The separatist group – which wants to take Balochistan from Pakistani sovereignty – has posted another statement on Telegram, where it issued the horror ultimatum.
In the statement, the BLA claims to have given the Pakistani state 48 hours to free its members from their prisons in exchange for the 200 hostages – who they claim are “serving enemy personnel, including intelligence agents, police and paramilitary forces”.
They also accused the captives of being “directly involved in state terrorism, enforced disappearances, [and] extrajudicial killing[s]”.
The group then accused the military of delaying matters, showing it’s “not serious about saving the lives of its own military personnel”, reminding them that there is “only 24 hours left” to bow to their demands.
“If Pakistan does not make practical progress on the prisoner exchange within the given ultimatum, all hostages will be presented before the Baloch National Court”, the group said.
“There, they will be tried on charges of state atrocities, colonial occupation, genocide, exploitation and involvement in war crimes in Balochistan. This trial will be prompt, impartial and transparent and if found guilty, the criminals will be punished according to Baloch national laws.”
Finally, the group threatened that every hour after the ultimatum expires, “five hostages will be punished according to the decision of the Baloch National Court”.
Authorities said they had rescued 150 of the 400 passengers, includign women and children. An undisclosed number of security personnel have been killed, according to three security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media.
According to the officials, the train was partially inside a tunnel when the militants blew up the tracks and immobilized the engine and its nine coaches. The driver was critically wounded by gunfire and guards aboard the train were attacked, although the officials gave no details on the number of guards who were aboard or their fate.
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