New Delhi: Damning truth has emerged two months after Pakistan force-fed its narrative to the world. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a rebel group fighting for Balochistan’s freedom from Pakistan’s control, has released a 35-minute video – which demolished Islamabad’s account of events surrounding the hijacking of the Jaffar Express on March 11.
This was not a skirmish. It was a high impact and sophisticated operation – codenamed ‘Darra-e-Bolan 2.0 – that sent a shockwave across the Pakistani establishment.
With 450 people on board, the train was hijacked by BLA fighters who first blew up the rail tracks in Balochistan. They literally held Pakistan and its military establishment hostage during the two-day siege. More than 200 officials, who included personnel from armed forces, police and other government departments, were held hostage and the “invincible” state was left scrambling in panic.
Ever ready to paper over its failures, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), describing the incident a “barbaric bloodbath”, claimed the BLA rebels suffered heavy casualties. However, the recent video tells a completely different story.
The clip reveals a disciplined, calculated and calm operation. It shows the storming of the train – from pre-mission briefings to combat training. The footage showcases the elite fidayeen unit of the BLA carrying out a textbook mission. Elderly, children and women passengers can be seen being safely evacuated – busting Pakistan’s propaganda that the BLA acted indiscriminately.
Echoing the determination and desperation of a people crushed under decades of Pakistan military oppression, the video starts with a powerful statement, “Our struggle and war has come to a point where we are to take such critical decisions…. A gun is needed to halt the gun.”
Monitoring:
Baloch Liberation Army media #Hakkal published video of the #JaffarExpress Hijack (Operation Darra-E-Bolan 2.0)#Balochistan pic.twitter.com/ClxM6VIOsy
— Bahot | باہوٹ (@bahot_baluch) May 18, 2025
It was not a rhetoric. With every man briefed on his objective and positioning, the BLA fidaeen fighters being prepped for war. There were not just rogue elements; they were trained insurgents with a clear mission – deliver a brutal message to the occupying Pakistani state.
Pakistan had claimed that the security forces killed 33 rebels during the siege – which ended in 30 hours. However, the BLA says it eliminated all 214 Pakistani military hostages who were captured during the hijack that is considered to be a devastating blow to Pakistan’s credibility and control in Balochistan.
The BLA doubled down while Pakistan tried to bury the operation under lies – showing messages, names and faces of its Majeed Brigade – which had carried out the attack. They emerged prepared for more, proud and defiant – far from being decimated.
More than a documentation of an operation, the video footage is a public relations nightmare for Pakistan. It is a reminder that Balochistan is not silent and that the people of Balochistan are far from defeated.
The footage is explosive, not just in content but in consequences, for a state built on militarised control, forced disappearances and censorship.