Pakistan's military spokesman said on Friday the death toll in a train hijacking in the country's southwestern mountains had risen to 31 and he repeated accusations that neighbouring India and Afghanistan backed the militants who carried it out.

The BLA is one of the largest militant outfits demanding independence for Balochistan. It is designated as a terrorist group by Pakistan as well as the US.

A passenger train, Jaffar Express, was attacked in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province on Tuesday, injuring the train driver and leading to hundreds of passengers being taken hostage. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA),

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for attacking the train carrying 440 passengers in a tunnel in a remote part of Balochistan. Spokesman Jeeyand Baloch had said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agree to release jailed militants.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan also claimed that intelligence reports indicated the Baloch terrorists, behind the hijack, were in contact with their associates in Afghanistan

A military operation against militants who hijacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers in southwest Pakistan has ended, a spokesman for the army said late on Wednesday. Some 33 militants and 21 hostages were killed during the operation,

The driver of Jaffar Express, which was hijacked by Balochistan Liberation Army militants, has described the terrifying moment when the insurgents attacked the train as survivors praised the military for their rescue.