ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways held a secret briefing on the Jaffar Express train hijacking on Tuesday.

Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi and Inspector-General Pakistan Railways Police Muhammad Tahir Rai and additional secretary interior briefed the committee on the incident as well as the operation to rescue over 400 hostages.

At least 26 hostages lost their lives — including 18 military and Frontier Corps personnel, three railway employees, and five civilians — lost thier lives in the attack.

Additionally, five security personnel were martyred.

The meeting, chaired by Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, praised the bravery and professionalism of the security forces who took part in the rescue operation.

The committee was miffed at the absence of the interior secretary and decided to take further briefing from him at the next meeting.

New carriages

Later, the media was allowed to cover the proceedings.

The Railway Board secretary briefed the committee on two mega-projects of Pakistan Railways — the procurement and manufacturing of 820 freight wagons and 230 passenger carriages and the ‘Thar Rail Connectivity’ initiative.

The committee was informed that the approved cost for 820 high-capacity freight wagons was Rs9.48 million. However, the cost has been revised to Rs17.57m. The meeting was told that 430 wagons have been manufactured, while the remaining 390 will be completed by December end.

The secretary further said that the carrying capacity, operational speed, axle load, and gross load had been increased in the new wagons.

He added that the approved cost for 230 passenger coaches was Rs21.71m, which has been revised to Rs53.39m.

The work on 46 coaches has been done, while the 184 remaining will be completed by June 2027.

About the ‘Thar Rail Connectivity Project,’ the secretary said the approval was granted in May 2024. The project, costing Rs53.72m will be completed within two years.

The project was being executed as a joint venture between the PR and the Sindh government on a 50-50 cost-sharing basis.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025