Monday's terrorism to cost railways dearly

LAHORE:

Pakistan Railways is expected to incur a loss of over Rs400 million even if the key bridge in Bolan district, destroyed last week by terrorists during a coordinated attack, is rebuilt within a month.

During the night between Sunday and Monday, terrorists attacked people and government properties in various districts of Balochistan. Among the damaged infrastructure was a bridge built during the British era, located between Kolpur and Dozan railway stations in Bolan.

The destruction of this railway bridge has severed train connections between Quetta and other cities in Balochistan, as well as Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Quetta, Imran Hayat, the destroyed bridge near Dozan was 100 years old.

On Thursday, the Jaffar Express train from Quetta to Peshawar was unable to depart, and the train coming from Peshawar to Quetta was turned back from Sukkur railway station. The Bolan Mail service between Quetta and Karachi has also been halted.

Railway officials reported that a technical team is on-site to inspect the damaged bridge. Following the inspection, an estimate of the damage will be prepared, and restoration work will commence.

The repair of the damaged bridge is expected to take several weeks. However, the bridge's reconstruction and the restoration of the track will proceed after receiving the technical team's report and security clearance.

Officials said the suspension of the Jaffar Express train service is expected to cause a daily loss of approximately Rs1 million, while the disruption of the Bolan Mail is anticipated to result in a monthly loss of Rs10 million.

If both train services remain suspended for a month, the total loss could exceed Rs40 million. According to provincial government officials, if security clearance is granted, train services will resume from Machh.

According to sources, the bridge reconstruction may take at least 45 days. During this period, the railways have arranged for buses to transport passengers between Machh and Quetta. Extra security has been requested from the Frontier Corps.

The railways have issued a letter to the IG Headquarters Frontier Corps, requesting that 12 Levies personnel be provided for the buses transporting passengers between Machh and Quetta. Two Levies personnel are to be assigned to each bus.

There were at least 170 militant attacks killing 151 civilians and 114 security personnel in Balochistan last year, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

In October last year, unidentified gunmen fatally shot six labourers hailing from Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan's Kech district. According to the police, the killings were targeted. All victims belonged to different areas of southern Punjab, suggesting they had been chosen for their ethnic background.

In 2019, gunmen stopped a bus near Ormara near Gwadar district, and shot dead 14 people, including personnel of the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guards, after checking their CNICs.

A similar incident occurred in 2015 when gunmen killed 20 construction workers and injured three others in a pre-dawn attack on a labourers' camp near Turbat. The victims belonged to Sindh and Punjab.