- NA panel orders jammers on all trains for passenger safety.
- Committee seeks tighter patrols in sensitive rail areas.
- Jaffar Express blast prompts new security directives.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways has directed the Pakistan Railways to instal jammers on all trains and step up patrolling in sensitive areas to enhance passenger safety, The News reported on Saturday.
Chaired by MNA Ramesh Lal, the requisitioned meeting of the committee issued the instructions in light of recent security concerns, including the Jaffar Express explosion.
The committee recommended the installation of three jammers on every train to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
The NA panel instructed the department to strengthen regular patrolling in sensitive areas and to install three jammers on every train to protect passengers from future incidents.
The meeting addressed the recent Jaffar Express explosion, the management of railway land, and the Karachi Freight Corridor Project, among other issues.
Officials briefed the Committee on the Jaffer Express incident, informing them that on October 7, at 08:15 hours, the train was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) near Sultan Kot Railway Station in Sindh. The attack resulted in five bogies being derailed and damaged the track.
Seven passengers, including Pakistan Railways employees, sustained minor injuries and were shifted to Civil Hospital, Shikarpur, after police immediately reached the site.
District administration and police from Sukkur, Larkana, and Shikarpur also responded to the site.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Railways Police revealed that the blast was carried out using a remote-control device and four to five explosives, and that the perpetrators have yet to be identified.
He informed members that sensitive agencies are assisting in the probe and that joint patrolling with the Frontier Corps (FC) has been intensified to ensure track security.
On March 11 this year, the train was targeted in a hijacking incident when outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants opened fire on the locomotive and took more than 400 passengers hostage in Balochistan.
The military, after clearing the train and rescuing hostages, killed 33 attackers. Before the operation began, terrorists had martyred 26 passengers, while four security personnel were martyred during the operation.
