NA panel seeks briefing on Jaffar Express incident

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Railways sought briefing from Pakistan Railways authorities over the Jaffar Express incident in District Bolan of Balochistan. Secretary Railways and Inspector General Railway Police will brief the NA standing committee over the Jaffar Express incident on Tuesday. The standing committee has also asked the IG Police Railways to brief the committee about measures taken for train security. It is to be noted here that a group of terrorists launched an attack on the Quetta to Peshawar Jaffar Express on March 11 in the Bolan area of Balochistan, targeting innocent civilians. The militants detonated a bomb on the railway track and then took over as many as 400 passengers including women and children hostage. The DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in a media briefing said that all 33 terrorists involved in the attack were killed, while 21 passengers and 4 FC personnel lost their lives in the incident. The NA committee has also demanded a briefing from the railway’s authorities over Pakistan Railways major projects. The standing committee session will approve the railways development projects in the session for the next financial year. A sub-committee will also submit its report in the NA standing committee’s session. TLTP