DEAR MURAD JAMALI: A bomb planted on a railway track near Dera Murad Jamali exploded on Tuesday, damaging a section of the track, while another explosive device was defused by police.

Police said unknown miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on the main railway track near the Notal area of Nasirabad district. The device detonated before the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express, coming from Peshawar, reached the site. The explosion damaged a portion of the track, forcing the suspension of train services.

“About four feet of the railway track was blown up in the powerful blast,” a senior police officer told Dawn, adding that another IED, weighing around 10 kilogrammes, was found planted at a similar distance from the first blast and was defused by the concerned authorities.

Railway officials stopped the Jaffar Express at Dera Murad Jamali and suspended train services between Quetta and other provinces until repairs to the track are completed.

Jaffar Express narrowly escapes another attack

Following the blast, a heavy contingent of police, the bomb disposal squad, and security forces rushed to the site, cordoned off the area, and launched a search operation to arrest those involved.

Police said that over the past two months, around a dozen attempts had been made by miscreants to target the Jaffar Express.

In a separate incident, a landmine blast in Dera Bugti district killed three goats and injured five others. Police said the explosion occurred in the Lanjo Saghari area, where unknown individuals had planted an underground landmine for sabotage purposes. Further investigation is underway.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2025