(MENAFN- Live Mint) A powerful explosion struck the Jaffar Express near the Sultankot area close to the Sindh–Balochistan border on Tuesday evening, derailing multiple coaches of the Quetta-bound passenger train, CNN-News18 reported.

According to railway officials, six bogies of the train, which was travelling from Peshawar to Quetta, derailed after the blast, with one coach overturning and several passengers sustaining injuries.

“Six bogies of the Jaffar Express derailed after the blast and one of them overturned,” a senior Pakistan Railways official told Dawn, adding that five passengers were injured in the incident.

Security forces and local police rushed to the site immediately after the explosion and transferred the injured to a nearby health facility. Officials confirmed that 270 passengers were aboard the train at the time of the blast. Rail services on the damaged section of the track will remain suspended until repairs are completed following a security clearance.

Second Blast in 10 Hours Near Sindh–Balochistan Border

The latest attack was the second explosion in the same area within 10 hours, highlighting a disturbing rise in militant strikes targeting Pakistan's railway network. Earlier on Tuesday morning, another blast occurred near the main track linking Balochistan to the rest of the country just as the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express was preparing to depart from Quetta Railway Station.

The morning incident briefly halted the train service before it resumed following a security clearance, as the track was not damaged. However, the evening explosion - believed to be caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the track - inflicted significant damage as the Quetta-bound train was passing through the Spizend area, officials said.

Series of Attacks on the Jaffar Express in 2025

Tuesday's explosion marks the seventh attack on the Jaffar Express in 2025, continuing a deadly trend that began earlier this year.

• On August 10, four people were injured when an IED derailed six coaches of the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in Mastung district.
• Just three days earlier, on August 7, a bomb detonated near Sibi railway station moments after the train had passed, narrowly avoiding a major tragedy.
• On August 4, gunmen opened fire on the train's pilot engine near Kolpur, with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) later claiming responsibility.
• In June, a remotely controlled explosive device planted on the tracks caused four coaches to derail in Jacobabad.
• On March 11, the train was hijacked in Bolan, resulting in the deaths of 21 passengers and four security personnel. Security forces later killed 33 militants in a retaliatory operation.
• Another derailment on July 28 in Sindh's Sukkur district was initially attributed to a blast, but the Ministry of Railways later clarified that it had resulted from a technical fault.

Baloch Insurgents Suspected Behind Latest Blast

Authorities suspect that ethnic Baloch insurgent groups, including the Baloch Liberation Army, are behind the repeated attacks on the Jaffar Express - one of Pakistan's most frequently targeted passenger trains. The group has long been active in Balochistan, where it has carried out bombings, derailments, and ambushes against security forces and infrastructure projects.

The repeated assaults on the Jaffar Express highlight the growing threat to civilian infrastructure in Pakistan's restive provinces and underscore the urgent need for enhanced rail security and intelligence coordination.

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