At least seven people were injured on Tuesday after a blast on a railway track derailed four bogies of the Jaffar Express in Sindh’s Shikarpur district, as reported by Dawn citing officials.
Speaking to Dawn, Shikarpur’s Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro stated that a blast had occurred on the train tracks at 8:15 am, about 1km from the Sultan Kot railway station.
He mentioned that four of those injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital while the remaining three were admitted to the Civil Hospital in Shikarpur.
According to the official, the Jaffar Express train was bound for Quetta via Jacobabad.
Sukkur Divisional Transport Officer (DTO) Mohsin Ali Sial informed Dawn that the passengers were being transported to nearby stations so that repair work on the track could begin.
Shikarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shahzeb Chachar said that the remaining bogies had proceeded toward Jacobabad and noted that the blast had targeted a single track used by the train traveling to and from Quetta via Jacobabad.
He stated that police in Jacobabad and Shikarpur were trying to trace those responsible for the incident.
Sindh’s Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah reportedly condemned the incident. Citing Radio Pakistan, it was mentioned that Shah sought a report of the incident from the Sindh police inspector general. He also directed the Larkana commissioner to provide medical assistance to the injured passengers.
The recent blast comes weeks after six bogies of the same train were derailed in the Balochistan province in late September this year.
In March this year, the train was hijacked by militants of the Baloch Liberation Army, resulting in the deaths of 21 passengers and four security personnel. All 33 terrorists involved in attacking the train were killed by the Pakistani forces, and hundreds of passengers were rescued.
