Pakistan Railways has resumed train services to and from Balochistan today under the existing timetable, ending a three-day suspension period, railway officials confirmed on Saturday.
The Jaffar Express departed from Quetta to Peshawar at its designated time, according to railway officials, who confirmed the latest operational update.
The return service from Peshawar to Quetta will also operate on Saturday morning, restoring connectivity after the temporary disruption.
Earlier, train services to and from Quetta and across parts of Balochistan remained suspended for another day on Friday due to what officials described as “unavoidable circumstances”.
They said the Jaffar Express from Quetta would not depart on Friday, while the return service from Peshawar was sent back from Jacobabad; whereas, the operations of Bolan Mail and Chaman passenger trains were also halted.
Meanwhile, several trains departing from Karachi had also experienced delays, including the Tezgam, which left at 1:30am instead of its scheduled 5:30pm departure, triggering passenger protests at Cantt Station.
The Sukkur Express, scheduled for 11:30pm, had also not departed by Friday morning, according to railway police.
It may be noted that at least 14 people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were martyred and several others injured in a blast which occurred near the railway track close to Chaman Phatak in Quetta on May 24, the Balochistan government spokesperson said.
Several women and children had also sustained injuries in the explosion and were shifted to hospitals for medical treatment.
Following the blast, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir stressed that terrorist attacks could not weaken the Pakistani nation’s resolve, and vowed to crush terrorism with full force.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that CDF Munir visited Zhob District, Balochistan, to celebrate Eid ul Adha with frontline troops deployed along the Western frontiers on Wednesday.
Referring to the recent cowardly terrorist incident in Quetta, orchestrated by Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Hindustan and its proxies, the field marshal reaffirmed that such inhuman and brutal acts cannot weaken the resolve of Pakistan Armed Forces or the nation.
CDF Munir emphasised that the morale and resolve of troops and the people of Pakistan remained unshaken. He reiterated that the Armed Forces, in close coordination with law enforcement agencies and the people of Balochistan, would continue to pursue all facilitators, abettors and perpetrators of terrorism with full force.