ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday condemned a militant attack on a passenger train in southwestern Balochistan province, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement, calling on all countries to actively cooperate with Islamabad in bringing those responsible to justice.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the Jaffar Express on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, a rugged area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The group took hundreds of hostages before security forces launched a rescue operation that ended the crisis after 36 hours.
“Members of the UN Security Council through a press statement today have condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack on Jaffar Express Passenger Train,” the foreign office said in its statement.
It added the council members “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”
The UNSC further “urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Pakistan in this regard.”
The Pakistan military maintained the BLA fighters remained in contact with their “handlers” in Afghanistan throughout the hostage standoff, reiterating its longstanding claim that Afghan authorities back anti-Pakistan groups. The administration in Kabul has denied the allegation.
During a media interaction on Friday, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, also called India the main sponsor of “terrorism” in Balochistan, claiming that New Delhi had a “nexus” with the BLA. Indian authorities have previously denied such allegations.
He further accused Indian mainstream news organizations of “glorifying” the hostage crisis and pushing a narrative of instability in Pakistan.
The foreign office said the UNSC reaffirmed that militant violence in all its forms constituted a serious threat to international peace and security and stressed the need for states to combat it through all means permissible under international law.
In addition to that, it expressed condolences to the victims’ families and extended sympathies to the people and government of Pakistan.
The UNSC also reaffirmed that acts like the attack on the passenger train were “criminal and unjustifiable,” regardless of the motivation behind them.
UN Security Council urges global cooperation to bring perpetrators of Pakistan train attack to justice
https://arab.news/b8ghd
UN Security Council urges global cooperation to bring perpetrators of Pakistan train attack to justice
- Pakistan’s military has called India the main sponsor of ‘terrorism’ in Balochistan after the attack
- It has also claimed BLA militants were in touch with ‘handlers’ in Afghanistan during the hostage crisis
Pakistan vaccinates over 43 million children as last polio drive of 2025 enters 6th day
- Campaign running simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, last two polio-endemic countries
- Health authorities urge parents and communities to fully cooperate with anti-polio vaccinators
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated more than 43.8 million children in five days of its last nationwide polio campaign of 2025, health authorities said on Saturday, as the drive entered its sixth day amid renewed efforts to curb the virus.
The campaign, running from Dec. 15 to 21, targets children under the age of five and is being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) which oversees eradication efforts.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has never been interrupted, keeping global eradication efforts at risk. The virus, which can cause irreversible paralysis, has no cure and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination.
“The last nationwide polio campaign of 2025 continues in full swing on the sixth day,” the NEOC said in a statement. “Over 43.8 million children have been vaccinated in five days so far.”
Provincial data released by the National EOC showed that around 22.7 million children had been vaccinated in Punjab province, more than 10.2 million in Sindh, approximately 6.9 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and about 2.5 million in Balochistan. In Islamabad, over 450,000 children received polio drops, while more than 274,000 were vaccinated in Gilgit-Baltistan and over 714,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
“The polio campaign is being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the NEOC said. “More than 400,000 polio workers are going door to door across the country to administer vaccines.”
Pakistan has logged 30 polio cases so far in 2025, underscoring the fragility of progress against the virus. The country recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six cases in 2023, reflecting setbacks caused by vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and access challenges in high-risk areas.
Health officials say insecurity remains a major obstacle. Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan, complicating efforts to reach every child. Natural disasters, including flooding, have further disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.
“Parents and communities are urged to fully cooperate with polio workers,” the NEOC said, stressing that every child under the age of five must be given polio drops.
Pakistan has dramatically reduced polio prevalence since the 1990s, when annual cases exceeded 20,000. Health authorities, however, warn that without sustained access to children in underserved and conflict-affected areas, eradication will remain out of reach.
