QUETTA: Passengers of the Jaffar Express have described scenes of panic and fear after a blast on the railway track in the Dasht area between Quetta and Kolpur on Sunday caused six carriages of the train to derail, suspending rail services between Quetta and other cities.
Jaffar Khan Jadoon, a passenger who was traveling from Quetta to Lahore in an emergency, said his journey was abruptly halted when the explosion plunged his carriage into darkness. “Right after the blast, women and children began screaming in fear,” he told reporters at Quetta Railway Station after being brought back on a relief train.
Another passenger, Abdul Basit, recalled the terrifying moment, saying, “We were just as scared as the children, but thank God there was no loss of life.”
The Jaffar Express, which operates daily between Quetta and Peshawar via Lahore and Rawalpindi, was en route to Peshawar when it was about 30 kilometers from Quetta, in Mastung district’s Dasht area. The blast, triggered by an explosive device placed along the track, derailed six carriages but miraculously caused no casualties.
Following the incident, passengers were not sent onward to their destinations but were instead transported back to Quetta via a relief train. Jadoon said security personnel entered their carriage immediately after the blast, instructing everyone to remain seated inside and not disembark. Passengers remained in the dark carriages for two to two-and-a-half hours before the relief train arrived.
The explosion has led to the suspension of train services between Quetta and other cities until at least August 14. Quetta Divisional Superintendent of Railways Imran Hayat Khan said the suspension orders came from the Lahore headquarters, while another official, speaking anonymously, cited security concerns as the reason.
Currently, rail connectivity from Quetta is extremely limited. Apart from the Jaffar Express, which runs daily to Peshawar, only the Bolan Mail operates between Quetta and Karachi, twice a week.
