Viral video of recent BLA attack on Jaffar Express train in Balochistan

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan reviewed this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image search to investigate whether the video was linked to the recent Jaffar Express train attack in Balochistan.

Posts from several Indian accounts on X on March 11, 2025, shared a video of a train explosion, claiming that it showed the attack on a Jaffar Express train that was hijacked by the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group the same day near Bolan district. However, the footage was of a January 2022 attack by the BLA on the Jaffar Express and unrelated to the current attack.

On March 11, terrorists attacked the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and took almost 400 passengers hostage, including around 200 security personnel.

The banned BLA claimed responsibility for the attack, which claimed the lives of at least 10 people, including the driver of the train. On the other hand, security forces confirmed that they had launched an operation in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass to rescue the hostages, killing at least 16 of the attackers.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 11, an account on X, which is an Indian account based on the news updates shared on their feed, posted a video of a train getting attacked and exploding near a mountainous area.

The post’s caption said, “Train hijack in Pakistan. Jaffar Express from Quetta to Peshawar hijacked after IED blast by Baloch rebels. BLA fighters have taken 182 people hostage after seizing the Jaffar Express. Eleven Pakistani soldiers have been killed.”

The video, which also features a BLA logo in the top right corner, received over 654,000 views and was shared 2,100 times.

Another Indian user, who according to their bio works as a sub-editor for far-right Indian media outlet OpIndia that is known to spread misinformation, shared the video with bullet points describing the details of the incident.

“Baloch freedom fighters are based. Hijacked train. Released women and children. Ensured only serving personnel from oppressive Pakistan Army were taken hostage. Threatened to kill all hostages if Pakistan Army reacted violently.”

The user added the hashtags of “Balochistan”, “train hijack” and “Jaffar Express” to the post, which gained over 100,000 views.

The same video and claim were widely shared by several other Indian accounts as can be seen here, here, here, here and here, gaining over a combined 137,000 views.

Moreover, Chinese publications also reported on the attack and used visuals from the video as can be seen here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality, significant public interest and concern about the details and visuals of the attack and the manner in which the video was being shared by Indian accounts that was suggestive of online brigading.

A reverse image search yielded the same video in an X post, dated April 15, 2022. The post also mentioned BLA attacking security personnel as the caption said, “The BLA has apparently attacked a train carrying Pakistani soldiers.”

A further keyword search for more posts from that timeframe yielded another X post from the same date with the same video that said: “BLA has released footage of an IED attack on train carrying Frontier Corps near Sibi, Balochistan.”

A subsequent narrowed keyword search for the timeframe of early 2022 yielded a longer version of the video on Funker530, a website sharing combat footage and military news.

Per the website, the footage was originally released by the BLA, showing an improvised explosive device attack on a train, in the same area of Mashkaf as the recent attack, on January 18, 2022.

A keyword search to corroborate the incident yielded a January 19, 2022, news report by Dawn titled: “Six passengers injured as bomb blast derails Jaffar Express”.

According to the report, the BLA had derailed four bogies of the Jaffar Express, leaving six passengers injured, via a bomb blast at a railway track near Sibi on January 18, 2022.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a video shows the recent BLA attack on a Jaffar Express train in Balochistan is misleading.

The footage was of a BLA attack on the Jaffar Express in the same general area of Mashkaf but one that occurred in January 2022, not the recent attack. Omitting this crucial context about its original date had the potential to misguide the public and spread unnecessary panic and worry.

MULTIPLE FALSE CLAIMS

At the same time, the iVerify Pakistan team observed multiple other claims regarding the Jaffar Express attack and the operation of security forces against the BLA. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform regarding the incident and resulting situation.

Video of army helicopter shooting down terrorists – FALSE

On March 12, a video was shared on X by an account that appeared to be a pro-military account, according to the profile photo and past posts, showing a helicopter shooting people and the sound of gunfire in the background with the caption, “The heart-warming scenes of the Pakistan Army executing the Baloch leaders involved in the Balochistan train attacks, one by one, have cooled my heart, thank God. Every drop of blood in my body is grateful to the soldiers of the Pakistan Army who protect the homeland by sacrificing their lives.”

The post was viewed by more than 190,000 people.

The same video with the same claim was widely shared by other X users as can be seen here, here, here and here.

The claim was also circulated on Facebook.

However, a reverse image search led to a YouTube video uploaded on November 7, 2017, confirming that the footage was not from the current incident.

Another YouTube video was found that was uploaded on August 12, 2012, titled “Two Apaches kill a platoon of Taliban.”

A comparison of both videos confirmed that the footage was identical to the viral clip.

A keyword search for “Apache”, “Taliban” and “Afghanistan” led to a news report published by the UK-based news outlet Daily Mail on June 23, 2017, titled: “Did Putin show Oliver Stone a fake video? Russian president may have shown the director footage of US operations in Afghanistan, claiming it was Russian military film.”

According to the report, in Oliver Stone’s documentary series ‘The Putin Interviews’, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a video on his phone, claiming it showed Russian aviation attacking militants in Syria. However, further analysis confirmed that the footage closely resembled a 2013 video of a US Apache helicopter engaging militants in Afghanistan.

The news report also referenced an X post featuring the same video under investigation.

PTI’s Salman Akram Raja saying Imran Khan has ordered support for BLA – FALSE

A post on X on March 12 by an account that appeared to be a PML-N supporter based on their past posts alleged that PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja stated that party founder Imran Khan had ordered support for human rights activist Mahrang Baloch and the BLA. The post alleged that Imran knew in advance about the attack and hence had ordered the support.

The post garnered over 76,000 views.

The same claim was shared by other users on X as can be seen here and here collectively gaining over 44,000 views.

However, checking the clip shared in the posts showed that Raja did not mention BLA and only stated that the PTI would invite Mahrang to Islamabad.

A review of his full speech from his press conference on February 27, 2025, alongside other opposition leaders, also confirmed that he did not reference the BLA at any point. Instead, he emphasised inviting Mahrang to Islamabad as a representative of the voice of the people of Balochistan.

Video of Jaffar Express on fire – FALSE

Independent Afghan news outlet Hewad Press posted a 50-second clip on March 11 on X that showed a huge fire and smoke emanating from it, claiming the visuals were of the train torched by terrorists.

Although only gaining 2000 views, the same clip was shared in connection to the incident by Indian and Pakistani accounts as can be seen here, here, here, here and here with over a combined 127,000 views.

The same clip was also circulated on Facebook with 153,000 views and TikTok with 6,200 views.

Examining the clip showed no discernible features of a train. A reverse image search conducted of multiple screenshots led to a YouTube video uploaded on March 12, 2025, titled “Super Highway Karachi Meer Chakar Brohi Hotel on fire.”

Analysing the video showed that several landmarks matched those in the viral footage. The first notable similarity appears at the point where two fire brigades are positioned at the same spot next to a small hut.

Another distinct landmark was the placement of three benches in front of the same hut, with fire and smoke visible in the background.

A keyword search for news reports to corroborate the matter yielded a Dawn news story published on March 11, titled “150 Shops gutted in Karachi fire triggered by gas cylinder explosion.”

According to the report, a gas cylinder exploded in the kitchen of Chakar Hotel, igniting a fire that quickly spread to a nearby gas filling shop. The flames then engulfed bushes and timber stacked outside shops, rapidly consuming the entire market.

The same incident was also reported by multiple, other and news outlets, confirming that the viral video of the fire at Super Highway was falsely attributed to the Jaffar Express train incident.

Pakistan Army drone strike mistakenly kills 10 hostage soldiers – FALSE

A known Indian propaganda account posted a 32-second clip on X on March 12 of a white aircraft, saying it was linked to the Jaffar Express attack.

The post’s caption said: “Breaking: Just a while ago, a drone strike by the Pakistan Army at the Jaffar Express hijacking site killed at least 10 hostage Pakistani soldiers and injured multiple others.”

The post gained over 162,000 views.

However, a reverse image search yielded a May 2019 news report from the Daily Mail that said the video clip was of a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet making a ‘dangerous pass’ near an American MQ-9 Reaper drone in Syria.

A comparison of both screenshots confirmed that the video had no connection to the Jaffar Express attack, debunking the false claim made by the Indian account.

Threatening video message released by BLA – MISLEADING

Another claim observed was a threatening video message by the BLA. Several accounts on X claimed that the video was released after hijacking the Jaffar Express train, warning Pakistan and China to “withdraw from Balochistan”.

One post that shared the video with a similar kind of caption gained 349,000 views.

The same video was linked with the Jaffar Express attack by several other accounts here, here, here, here and here, gaining over a combined 192,000 views.

However, a reverse image search yielded a news report by Business Recorder dated July 5, 2019, and titled: “US designation of BLA as a terrorist group”. The report featured a screengrab of the same video.

The search also yielded an X post that had shared the same video on May 20, 2019. In the longer footage, the BLA commander can be heard mentioning the group’s attack on a hotel in Gwadar on May 11, 2019.

Comparing the recent and the old version of the video showed that the former contained a sudden disruption at the point before the BLA commander mentions the hotel attack in the longer video, confirming that the recent viral video was edited to remove mention of the attack dating it to May 2019.

The 2019 version of the video confirmed that the BLA released the threatening video message after it attacked the Pearl Continental hotel in Gwadar, on May 11, 2019, and was thus entirely unrelated to the Jaffar Express train incident. The claim that it was a threatening video message issued after the current incident was misleading.

Evidence and References

March 12, 2025, Dawn news story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1897307

April 15, 2022, X post:
https://perma.cc/8MUT-VGLC

April 15, 2022, X post:
https://perma.cc/87AU-CT2G

Funker530 video:
https://funker530.com/video/separatists-derail-train-with-improvised-explosive-device/

January 19, 2022 Dawn news report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1670241