Thursday, March 13

Dozens of people were killed after a train carrying hundreds of people was hijacked in Pakistan yesterday, leading to an intense rescue operation that saved almost 350 people.

The incident occurred in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, a large province covering the southwest corner of the country, and the attack was carried out by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a rebel group looking to achieve independence for Balochistan.

The BLA has been around for quite some time now, and they have executed multiple dangerous, deadly plans that have killed dozens of people over the past few years. The BLA opposes many decisions that the Pakistani government has made, specifically several major decisions that have grown their relations with China, and they believe that the Baloch people are being used and deserve an independent state.

China has recently made massive investments into what is known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which works to grow Pakistan's economy while providing China with a new trade route and easier access to the Middle East. One of the largest of these projects is the ongoing construction of the port of Gwadar, a city in Balochistan with a strategic location on the coast. However, many of the Baloch people maintain a stance against the Chinese government, leading to conflict in the region.

In the latest attack, the BLA attacked the Jaffar Express, a long-distance train route traveling between the Balochi capital of Quetta and the city of Peshawar, which is located in the far north of the country. The group began firing rocket-propelled grenades and sprayed heavy gunfire onto several carriages, and while there were soldiers onboard to defend the train, they were greatly outnumbered by the BLA.

Then, the BLA stormed onto the train and began to separate people by their ethnicity, immediately killing anyone from the province of Punjab. Anyone who tried to escape was shot at, and many were killed. However, several people managed to evade BLA forces and run to nearby towns, where Pakistani troops were already stationed.

In the end, 26 passengers and the train driver were killed by the BLA, but Pakistani forces managed to kill all 33 BLA militants involved in the hijacking.

Nevertheless, Pakistani officials have referred to this attack as a wake-up call for their nation to address the growing threat of the BLA in the southwest. While Balochistan makes up 44% of Pakistan's total land area, it contains only 6 to 7% of its population, and much of the province's population has been stricken by serious poverty. In addition, growing Chinese influence in the region has further displeased the BLA, leading to a sharp increase in attacks over the past few years.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): There is a type of predatory fish known as a snakehead fish, which can get up out of the water and walk over a quarter of a mile. They have both gills and an organ located in their “gill arches” that permits them to breathe oxygen, and they can weigh up to 14 pounds.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. (Plutarch)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Multifarious (adj, mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us) - Something described as multifarious has great diversity or variety, or is made up of many and various kinds of things. Multifarious is a formal word and a synonym of diverse.

In a Sentence: He participated in multifarious activities throughout college.