Pakistan: Seven injured as blast derails Jaffar Express near Shikarpur in Sindh

Dubai: Seven passengers were injured on Tuesday when an explosion on a railway track caused four bogies of the Jaffar Express to derail in Sindh’s Shikarpur district, officials were quoted as saying.

Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro told Dawn.com that the blast occurred around 8:15 a.m., about one kilometre from Sultan Kot railway station.

He said the impact of the explosion caused four carriages to derail. Four of the injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, while three others were admitted to Civil Hospital, Shikarpur.

The Quetta-bound Jaffar Express, travelling via Jacobabad, was moving on the track when the blast took place, said Sukkur Deputy Divisional Superintendent Syed Moalim.

Railway officials despatched a crane to re-rail the bogies, while Divisional Transport Officer Mohsin Ali Sial said passengers were being shifted to nearby stations so repairs could begin.

According to Shikarpur SSP Shahzeb Chachar, the remaining carriages continued toward Jacobabad. He said the explosion targeted a single line used by trains to and from Quetta, and police teams from Jacobabad and Shikarpur had launched a search for the perpetrators.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah condemned the attack and sought a report from the provincial police chief, directing the Larkana commissioner to ensure proper medical treatment for the injured.

In a similar incident in August, a bomb blast on a railway track in Balochistan’s Mastung district derailed six bogies of the same train near Spezand station, though no casualties were reported. That incident occurred just three days after another failed attempt to target the Jaffar Express in Sibi, when an explosive detonated moments after the train had passed.