NASEERABAD: Security forces on Tuesday foiled a sabotage attempt on the Jaffar Express after an explosive device was found planted on the railway track near Dera Murad Jamali.
The Quetta-bound passenger train, travelling from Lahore, was minutes away from the location when the device was discovered.
Police said unidentified attackers had placed around 3.5 kilograms of explosive material on the track within the limits of the Sadar police station. The Bomb Disposal Squad defused the device, and the train was halted at the Dera Murad Jamali station as a precaution. Officials confirmed that the swift response prevented what could have been a major incident.
The attack comes a day after the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express narrowly avoided an assault in the Bolan Pass area of Kachhi district.
That incident, in which armed men opened fire on the moving train from surrounding mountains near Aab-i-Gum, marked the sixth such attack on the service between Quetta and Sibi in the past six weeks. Railways Police on board returned fire, forcing the assailants to flee, and all bogies remained safe.
Authorities said the repeated targeting of the train underscores escalating security threats along key railway routes in Balochistan, prompting increased vigilance across the region.
