Train Passengers Freed After Hostage Siege in Pakistan; Old Video Misused
In mid-March, authorities in Pakistan secured the release of hundreds of train passengers who had been taken hostage by a militant group. The passengers were freed after a protracted 30-hour standoff. During the incident, 27 off-duty soldiers were killed by the captors. Despite these events, a video circulating widely on social media, showing a train exploding, is unrelated to this hostage situation. The footage, which dates back to 2022, captures a different militant assault targeting Pakistani armed forces.
A social media post on X, dated March 11, 2025, falsely claimed: “The Balochistan Liberation Army has hijacked the Jaffar Express in Pakistan. Approximately 500 passengers are on board, including ISI officers. Video footage of the train attack has now emerged.”
The misleading post included a video clip showing a train traveling through a mountainous region when a sudden explosion occurs.
Screenshot of the false social media post, captured on March 13, 2025.
The Pakistani military reported freeing over 340 passengers the day after armed militants initially seized approximately 450 individuals. This attack, which occurred on March 11, also resulted in injuries to the train driver and took place in Balochistan, a southwestern province known for its instability.
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The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist organization, has claimed responsibility for increased attacks in recent years. The BLA asserts its actions are against those they accuse of exploiting Balochistan’s natural resources. These attacks predominantly target security personnel and ethnic groups originating from outside the Balochistan province.
Similar deceptive posts, incorporating the old video, have appeared on X and Facebook. However, investigations reveal the video predates the recent hostage incident, having been recorded in 2022 during a separate militant operation in Balochistan.
Video Verification: Footage from 2022 Balochistan Attack
A reverse image search using Google confirmed that the train explosion video was already online nearly three years before the recent train hijacking in Pakistan.
The caption accompanying an April 15, 2022 post on X indicated that the BLA had released the video, claiming it depicted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack on a train transporting Frontier Corps personnel – a Pakistani paramilitary group. The attack purportedly occurred near Sibi, Balochistan.
Further investigation, involving a keyword search on Telegram, revealed a BLA press release, dated January 18, 2022, circulated by Hakkal, the BLA’s media outlet.
The press release stated: “Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) fighters targeted the Jaffar Express train using an IED in the Mushkaf area of Bolan, near Sibi, on Tuesday. This action resulted in the derailment of four carriages of the Jaffar Express.”
Screenshot of the 2022 BLA press release as shared on Telegram.
Local news sources reported in January 2022 that an explosion near a railway line in the mentioned area injured at least five individuals.
A Google keyword search also uncovered an archived version of the video circulating online, attributed to Hakkal.
The caption accompanying this archived video read: “Footage of Baloch Liberation Army attacks against the Pakistani Military in Balochistan.” The BLA insignia is visible in the upper-right corner of the video footage.
Screenshot comparison of the false social media post (Left) and the authentic 2022 Hakkal video (Right).
Using geolocation tool Google Maps, AFP corroborated that the video indeed depicts an explosion in the Mushkaf region of Balochistan.
AFP has a dedicated page for fact-checking misinformation originating from Pakistan, accessible here.