Claim: A video of Salman Akram Raja expressing support for Mahrang Baloch proves the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is linked to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its attack on Jaffar Express.
Fact: The video of Raja is from a press conference that predates the BLA’s attack on the Jaffar Express. His statements are entirely unrelated to the incident. Moreover, he expressed his support for human rights activist Mahrang Baloch and not the BLA.
On 11 March 2025, the BLA hijacked a passenger train, the Jaffar Express, which was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar with nearly 400 passengers on board. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the train carried 440 passengers. On 12 March, the Pakistani military announced the conclusion of a successful operation against the separatist group. According to the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), there were a total of 33 terrorists, all of whom were eliminated, but 21 passengers lost their lives prior to the launch of the state’s operation. Moreover, four Frontier Corps personnel lost their lives as well.
On 12 March 2025, a post on X claimed that Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan knew of the attack beforehand and had ordered PTI workers to support Mahrang Baloch and the BLA. Additionally, it stated that PTI’s social media confirms that Khan had ordered the attack. The caption of the post in Urdu is as follows:
عمران خان کو بلوچستان میں بڑے حملے کا پہلے سے معلوم تھا۔ اسی لئے اس نے پی ٹی آئی کارکنان کو مارانگ بلوچ اور بی ایل اے کو سپورٹ کرنے کا حکم دیا تھا”
“آج جب بی ایل اے کے دھشت گردوں نے جعفر ایکسپریس پر حملہ کیا تو پی ٹی آئی سوشل میڈیا نے یہی کہا عمران خان کا حکم ہے
According to Google Translate, it reads as follows in English:
“Imran Khan already knew about the big attack in Balochistan. That is why he ordered PTI workers to support Marang Baloch and BLA
Today, when BLA terrorists attacked Jaffar Express, PTI social media said this is Imran Khan’s order.”
The post also included a video of PTI’s Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja addressing a press conference as proof of the claim. In the video, Raja is heard saying that the PTI will invite Mahrang Baloch to Islamabad and go to her as well.
Fact or Fiction?
There is no evidence to support the claim that Imran Khan knew of or ordered the PTI to support the attack on Jaffar Express. Moreover, there is no evidence on PTI’s social media accounts that confirms that Khan had ordered the attack. PTI’s X account has made no such statement. If anything, the party condemned the attack on X. A video of leader of the opposition Omar Ayub Khan condemning the attack and questioning the role of the intelligence agencies in the matter was also shared a day after the train’s hijacking, on 12 March 2025.
Regarding the video shared in the claim, Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse-image search of its keyframes. This led us to the earliest instance of the video on Facebook dated 27 February 2025, where Raja appeared to be addressing a press conference. In the video, he voiced support for Mahrang Baloch, saying that the PTI would invite her to Islamabad and go to her as well.
A search on YouTube for “Salman Akram Raja 27 Feb” led us to a video posted to Imran Khan’s official YouTube account, in which Raja says these same words. It is part of a longer video titled “Salman Akram Raja Blasting Speech | PTI In Action | Pakistan News | Breaking News” that was posted to the YouTube account of Express News on 27 February 2025. Since this video’s earliest instance is from 27 February, it is entirely unrelated to the attack on Jaffar Express, which occurred the following month on 11 March.
Raja does not mention the BLA at any point in the video. He expresses support for human rights activists Mahrang Baloch, and the founder of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement Manzoor Pashteen, urging that their voices should be heard. Raja says:
“اگر مہرنگ آواز ہے بلوچستان کی، اگر منزوُر پشتین خیبرپختوُنخواہ کے، اگر عوام کے بڑے حصہ کی آواز ہے، تو اُس آواز کو ہم نے سُننا ہے۔”
This reads as follows in English:
“If Mahrang is the voice of Balochistan, if Manzoor Pashteen is the voice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, if these are the voices of major parts of the country, then we have to listen to them.”
Raja further states that politics in the country need to be based on honesty, and honor, and no one should have to face violence. He says:
“ہم وہ سیاست کرنا چہتے ہیں جو۔۔۔ سب سے بڑھ کر شرافت کی سیاست ہے۔ کسی کے پیارے کو گُم نہیں ہونا چاہیے، کسی کے پیارے کی مسخ شُدہ لاش نہیں ملنی چاہیے۔”
This reads as follows in English:
“We want to do politics which… above all, is the politics of honor. No one’s loved one should be lost, no one’s loved one’s mutilated body should be found.”
It is immediately after this that Raja says the PTI will invite Mahrang Baloch to Islamabad and go to her as well—the point at which the video in the claim begins. However, this is said in the context of allying with the human rights activist to further the development of a politics of honesty and honor that he previously mentioned in the speech. Raja says:
“اور ہم کہیں گے، تم ہماری بہن ہو، ہم تمھارے بھائ ہیں، ہم نے اکھٹے مل کر شرافت کا بول بالا کرنا ہے۔”
This reads as follows in English:
“And we will say, you [Mahrang] are our sister, we are your brothers, we have to raise the word of nobility together.”
Hence, the clip in the claim makes a false claim by interpreting Salman Akram Raja’s speech as proof of the PTI’s support for the BLA and its attack on Jaffar Express. Firstly, Raja’s speech came well before the BLA’s hijacking of the Jaffar Express and is entirely unrelated to the incident. Secondly, in his complete statement, he actually expressed support for human rights activists like Mahrang Baloch and Manzoor Pashteen to urge national unity. He does not mention the BLA or declare PTI’s support for the armed separatist group at any point in the video.
Virality
On X, the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: There is no evidence on PTI’s social media accounts confirming that Imran Khan knew of or ordered the PTI to support the BLA’s attack on Jaffar Express. On the contrary, PTI’s social media shows that the party has condemned the attack.
The video of Salman Akram Raja shared in the claim is from a press conference that predates the attack on Jaffar Express. The comments he made in this instance are not related to the BLA’s hijacking of the train. In fact, Salman Akram Raja expressed his support for human rights activist Mahrang Baloch during the press conference and not for the BLA. .
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Background image in cover photo: Daily Islamabad POST