Hostages freed after a day-long ordeal following a BLA militant attack on a Pakistan train recalled crouching on the floor for hours before their release.

The train hijacking in south-western Pakistan represents a major escalation in the region’s long-running insurgency.

Train hijackers in Pakistan’s Balochistan province killed a total of 31 security personnel and civilians before they were neutralised, according to Pakistan Army

The militants, Baloch ethnic fighters, said they would kill dozens of seized security personnel if the Pakistani government did not agree to a prisoner exchange.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s neglected southwestern province of Balochistan has been the scene of a yearslong insurgency, with a dramatic uptick in attacks in recent years underscoring the struggles the government in Islamabad faces in dealing with myriad security threats.

The death toll from a militant hijacking of a train in Pakistan's southwestern mountains has risen to 31 soldiers, staff and civilians, the military said on Friday as it accused India and Afghanistan of backing the insurgents.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) insurgents hijacked the Jaffar Express in Pakistan, blowing up the railway track en route from Quetta to Peshawar and killing military personnel (here, here, here, and here).

Pakistani security forces stormed a hijacked train on March 12, ending a day-long standoff with separatist militants. The attackers, Baloch separatist militants, had hijacked the Jaffar Express on March 11 after blowing up the railway track,