Pakistan blames Afghanistan for Baloch Liberation Army attack

Taliban condemns accusations, urging Pakistan to address internal security failures.

On 11 March 2025, media reports circulated alleging that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) seized a Jaffar Express train near the Mashkaf Tunnel in the Bolan district of the Balochistan province in Pakistan, taking hostage an estimated 426 passengers, including both Pakistani military personnel and civilians, after derailing the train.

The attack was claimed by the BLA on the same day, confirming the killing of six Pakistani soldiers and threatening to execute hundreds of hostages if a military operation was launched.

On 12 March 2025, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media and public relations wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, stated in a press release that intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed that the attack was orchestrated by “terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan”, whom they accused of being “in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident”.

Following this, on 14 March 2025, the Pakistan Army Spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif alleged in a public statement circulated online by social media users and media outlets that the attack was linked to Afghanistan and was sponsored by India.

On 16 March 2025, the BLA carried out another attack in Noshki, Balochistan, targeting a Pakistan Army convoy consisting of eight buses which, according to The Diplomat, killed a total of 90 Pakistani soldiers. The ISPR confirmed the Nushki attack in a press release issued on 16 March 2025.

Taliban response to the accusations

Following the first attack, the Taliban spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, shared a statement in English on 13 March 2025 to his X account with 256K followers.

In the post, Balkhi announced that the Islamic Emirate “categorically rejects [the] baseless allegations” by the Pakistani army spokesman, who claimed that the attack on a passenger train in Balochistan province was linked with Afghanistan. Balkhi urged the Pakistani authorities to focus on resolving their security and internal problems instead of making “irresponsible remarks”.

In a separate post shared minutes later, Balkhi claimed that no members of the Baloch opposition are present in Afghanistan, nor have they ever had any links with the Taliban state. He expressed that the Islamic Emirate is saddened by the loss of innocent people in the incident, adding that “sacrificing civilians for political objectives is unjustifiable”.

The statement was reposted by the X account of the Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Hamdullah Fitrat, whose account has over 23K followers, and was covered by several independent media outlets, including Ariana News.

On the same day, an official statement was also issued by the state-run Al Emarah Dari on X and the outlet’s official website. The statement was written on behalf of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and accused the Pakistani authorities of trying to cover up their “failures” and attempting to restore their “lost status” by making “baseless claims” against Afghanistan. The statement further referred to the accusations of BLA’s links with Afghanistan as “far from reason and logic”, concluding that the Emirate regrets the death of innocent people. The statement was reposted by Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.

Even before the attacks, on 10 March 2025, in a statement during the UN Security Council briefing on Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, claimed that the Taliban authorities have failed to address the threat posed to the region and beyond by “Afghanistan-based” terrorist groups, allegedly including Al-Qaeda, the TTP, and “Baloch terrorists, including the BLA and the Majeed Brigade”.

In response to the statement, on 12 March 2025, the Deputy Spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Hamdullah Fitrat, in an audio message shared by RTA Pashto, called the statements of Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations and other parties “ambiguous” and said that Afghanistan is a peaceful country where no “arbitrary activity” is allowed.

Border clashes and closures

Further tensions arose days later, when on 14 March 2025, social media users on X shared a video showing a blindfolded man, claimed to be a Pakistani soldier, leaving a military vehicle surrounded by armed Taliban members in Khost after he had allegedly crossed the Durand Line from Pakistan. A picture of the arrest was also shared on the same day by a pro-Taliban propagandist known as Syeda Sadat on X, who claimed that the incident took place in the Babrak Tani area of ​​Alisher district. AW could not independently verify the video.

On 17 March 2025, Taliban affiliated ‘Voice of Hindukush’ media reported that traders and tribal elders from Pakistan and Afghanistan had held a meeting and reached an agreement to reopen the Torkham border. However, senior Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, citing the pro-Taliban outlet Hurriyat Radio, reported on 18 March 2025 that the Taliban authorities did not accept the demands presented by the jirga, resulting in a failure to reach an agreement.

On the same day, Khorasan Diary reported an exchange of fire between the Pakistani and Afghan border forces in Kurram District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but claimed no casualties. Overnight clashes were also reported by Amu TV in Zazi Maidan district, Khost province.

On 19 March 2025, both Pakistani and Afghan media outlets, quoting official sources, reported that the Torkham border crossing had been reopened. Most recently, on 20 March 2025, the Taliban acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, requested Pakistani authorities to resolve the issues on the Durand Line through negotiations, during a meeting with diplomats from numerous countries in Kabul.

Further tensions due to continued deportations

Meanwhile, the closure of the Torkham border crossing has reportedly halted deportations of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

Pakistani authorities resumed pressure to deport Afghans in November 2024. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an estimated 80% of those returning have been women and children. According to a report by the UNHCR and IOM published in January 2025, most Afghans who have returned to the country from Pakistan have cited fear of detention by Pakistani authorities as the reason they left.

According to the most recent report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW), intensified abusive tactics by Pakistani authorities including arbitrary detentions, house raids, and violence have forced Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan, exposing them to persecution by the Taliban in addition to facing the economic, healthcare, and humanitarian crisis in the country. The report highlighted that over 800,000 Afghans, including many who were born in Pakistan and lived there for decades, were forced to return to the country during the previous wave of deportations and expulsions between September 2023 and January 2024.

While Pakistan’s allegations that the BLA attack was orchestrated from Afghan territory, it should be noted that while the continued border clashes and closures and growing anti-Pakistan sentiment due to deportations are distinct issues, they reflect the broader pattern of escalating tensions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In January 2025, Pakistani forces launched airstrikes targeting alleged Pakistani Taliban (TTP) assets in the Barmal district of Paktika province, resulting in reports of civilian casualties, including women and children.