Islamabad : Pakistan’s big challenge is terrorism. In recent times, terrorist incidents in Pakistan have intensified greatly. Pakistani military and civilian leadership are on the same page in the war against terrorism.
While holding a press conference with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti regarding the attack on the Jafar Express in Islamabad, Pakistan Army Spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said that the eastern neighbor is the main sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan.
After the attack on the Jafar Express, the Indian media continued to propagate through fake AI videos and showed the propaganda videos of terrorists to the world. An attempt was made to create a narrative against Pakistan through fake videos. The Indian media tried to tarnish the country’s image with false videos. The terrorists took action in a systematic manner.
The Jafar Express incident took place in a very difficult area. Before the train, a large number of terrorists attacked the FC check post, where 3 FC soldiers were martyred. Terrorists blew up the railway track with the help of IED and divided the passengers into groups, fake videos of the train incident were made on social media using AI, Indian media was propagandizing through fake AI videos.
It should be remembered that the war against terrorism cannot be won by security agencies alone. For this, political leadership and other parties will have to face this war on the front foot. This war against terrorism is not new, for the last several decades we have been facing different types of terrorism. Issues related to terrorism are related to regional and global issues. Pakistan needs global cooperation to win this war against terrorists.
Pakistan is of the view that if the US withdraws its abandoned weapons from Afghanistan, peace can be restored in the region. Pakistan is facing threats of terrorist infiltration from Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly convinced Afghanistan that its soil is being used for terrorism in Pakistan. But neither the international community nor Afghanistan has made any major progress in this matter. Afghanistan is not ready to do what Pakistan wants. Pakistan has come second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025.
The report by the Institute for Economics and Peace has analyzed the trends and impacts of terrorism over the past 17 years. In 2024, terrorist incidents in Pakistan increased by 45 percent. In 2023, 517 attacks were reported, which increased to 1099 in 2024, which is the largest annual increase in the last decade.
The report also revealed that the banned TTP has emerged as the most dangerous terrorist organization, which was responsible for 52 percent of the deaths in Pakistan in 2024. Last year, the TTP carried out 482 attacks in which 558 people were killed, which is 91 percent more than the 293 deaths in 2023.
The report acknowledges that after the Taliban government came to power in Afghanistan, terrorists have found safe havens there. Pakistan has tried many times to convince the Afghan Taliban government that we will not be able to move forward without their help and cooperation in this war against terrorism. But the Afghan Taliban are unable to understand this and do not seem ready to pay any attention to our concerns regarding the TTP. We should definitely put pressure on the Afghan Taliban to abide by the Doha agreement and this work is not possible without the help and cooperation of major powers.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said that the terrorists released a group of hostages on the night of March 11 on linguistic grounds. There were some logistical reasons for this because so many people cannot be controlled, and secondly, they wanted to give the impression of being humanitarians.
He said that the terrorists left some of their comrades on the train and a large number went to their hideouts in the mountains, after monitoring them, the security forces targeted and eliminated them and this is the first time this has happened.
According to the Pakistan Army spokesman, the terrorists were in constant contact with their handlers in Afghanistan throughout the terrorist operation. He said that on the morning of March 12, our forces targeted the terrorists through snipers, and a group of hostages escaped from the clutches of the terrorists, who were rescued by FC soldiers, while some hostages were martyred in the terrorists’ fire. He said that on the afternoon of March 12, the Zarrar Company of the Special Services Group (SSG) took command of the operation and targeted the suicide bombers among the hostages with the help of snipers.
The hostages then got a chance to escape and escaped the terrorists’ trap and fled in different directions. General Ahmed Shahreef said that when the hostages managed to escape from outside the train, the Zarrar Company of the SSG entered the train through the engine, cleared the entire train of terrorists, bogie by bogie, and rescued the hostages, women and children. The operation was carried out so skillfully that no innocent hostage was killed during the entire operation. The martyrdoms that occurred occurred before the operation was launched.
The terrorists martyred many hostages during the 24 hours, but they could not take anyone’s life during the operation even if they wanted to. During the operation, a sniper fire came from the Zarrar Company and later the said terrorist was also targeted.The terrorists had foreign weapons and equipment, the passengers rescued in the operation were provided with food and shifted to a safe place under the supervision of the forces, a video of the different stages of the operation and the transfer of the hostages to a safe place was also shown during the press conference.
The spokesperson of the Pakistan Army said that among the incidents of taking the train hostage in history, this incident was the most successful in terms of operation, where within 36 hours, despite the presence of suicide bombers at a very remote location, the Pakistan Army, Air Force and FC completed this operation with full planning. He said that this is another incident of terrorism whose links are found in the neighboring country of Afghanistan, this is a part of the ongoing process, because the formations that come here, Afghans are a part of it, the suicide bombers who come here are Afghans.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, while showing pictures on the screen, said that the recently killed foreigner Badruddin was the son of the deputy governor of Baghdis province, foreigner Mejbur Rahman was a battalion commander in the Afghan army and was carrying out terrorism in Pakistan, similarly, the Bannu incident just happened, Afghan terrorists were also involved in it. He further said that similarly, the weapons found with them were also brought from Afghanistan, but the incident that has happened in Balochistan and the incidents that have happened before it, the main sponsor of it is the eastern neighbor.
On this occasion, DG ISPR showed the confessional video statements of arrested Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, in which he is saying that RAW’s target and objective is to carry out several terrorist acts in Balochistan. At this time, the purpose of my coming to Pakistan is to meet with Baloch nationalists and to carry out operations with Baloch nationalists around the Makran Coast by 30 to 40 RAW operatives. The purpose is that RAW operatives should be in the field so that they can help and facilitate Baloch nationalists so that they can target specific targets, and all military-style operations can be carried out because the movement in Balochistan does not take place through the sea.
The purpose is that the Baloch nationalists can be provided with safe land and it is fully coordinated from the sea. DG ISPR played the statement of the former Indian Army Chief, in which he is saying that ‘if we promote nationalist movements, if we throw oil, then of course the Pakistan army, which is their internal environment,’ he said.
The statement of the Baloch was also shown, in which they are saying that ‘there is no war going on, people are killing innocent Baloch people only for their own personal interests, especially India has a hand in all these conspiracies’. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that this is why the Jafar Express incident happened, it is a continuation of this policy, from there it was pushed that this work should be done. He said that we thank Allah and salute those brave soldiers who saved innocent lives from a very dangerous situation with their determination and courage.
In response to a question, the DG ISPR said that this is a war, the Pakistani army and law enforcement agencies are fighting against it, the entire nation has to fight against terrorism, if you look closely, there was a consensus through the 2014 National Action Plan, in which all political parties and stakeholders sat down and decided. He said that similarly, the previous government had given a revised National Action Plan, which had 14 points, and the same 14 points are included in the Vision and Commitment to Stability, all stakeholders agree that if these 14 things are done, terrorism will be eliminated.
At the beginning of the press conference, Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti said that I pay tribute to the security forces for the successful operation, the Pakistan Army’s ability to make the hostages’ release possible is commendable. No concessions will be made to the elements spreading unrest, and it has been decided to treat the separatists like terrorists. The Chief Minister of Balochistan said that I thank the United States, China, Russia, Britain, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Europe, the Secretary General of the United Nations and the European Ambassador for condemning the attack on the Jafar Express. In Baloch traditions, such incidents are viewed from a perspective that has nothing to do with Baloch traditions, Baloch are the guardians of traditions, but terrorists have violated all these traditions, so I say that they should not be called Baloch. He said that just as the Khawarij who commit terrorism in the name of Islam have nothing to do with Islam, similarly those who commit terrorism in the name of Balochism have nothing to do with Balochism, this fight has nothing to do with Balochism and rights, these are purely satanic forces and terrorists, who want to destabilize Pakistan and break it. Sarfaraz Bugti said that Afghan soil is being used against us, it has been happening for a long time, they have made an agreement with the world in Doha that their soil will not be used against anyone else, the world will also have to think that this threat is not only for Pakistan. It should be noted that on March 11, terrorists blew up the railway track in the Bolan Pak area, and attacked the Jafar Express and took more than 400 passengers hostage. Although difficulties were faced due to the remote area, the security forces had conducted a major operation to rescue the hostages at Bolan Pass in the Dhadar area.ISPR Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had said that the hostage passengers of the Jafar Express were rescued and all 33 terrorists were killed, however, before the operation began, the terrorists martyred 21 civilians. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, in separate statements, paid tribute to the Pakistan Army and security forces for completing the Jafar Express operation and rescuing the hostages. President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces for completing the Jafar Express operation, he expressed deep sorrow and regret over the martyrdom of 21 civilians and 4 FC jawans during the operation
In his statement, president Asif Ali Zardari praised the bravery of the forces for killing 33 terrorists in an effective operation by the security forces, the President appreciated the professionalism of the security forces for rescuing the civilians and passengers. The President paid tribute to the 4 FC jawans for their martyrdom. Later, Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif paid tribute to the Pakistan Army and security forces for completing the Jafar Express operation and rescuing the hostages.
The Prime Minister said that the operation was carried out with utmost skill, our brave soldiers and officers showed bravery and courage, killing 33 terrorists. Shahbaz Sharif had expressed grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of the security forces soldiers and train passengers in the operation, the Prime Minister prayed for forgiveness for the martyrs and for patience and perseverance for the families.
The Prime Minister said that those who harm the lives and property of unarmed and innocent citizens have nothing to do with Islam and this country, and we are determined to defeat those who attack innocent citizens on all fronts. Shahbaz Sharif had said that our war against terrorists will continue until the complete eradication of terrorism from the country. Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif had visited Balochistan yesterday to express solidarity with the citizens of Balochistan and in view of the security situation.
