Baloch separatists have repeatedly attacked the Jaffar Express in the last few years. It is commonly used by security personnel, mostly from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The last major attack on the train took place in November when a suicide bomber detonated himself at the Quetta railway station as it prepared to depart.

The Jaffar Express, with roughly 450 people on board, was traveling north from Quetta, Balochistan, to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when it came under a bomb and gun attack Tuesday

Jaffar Express travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers was hijacked in which 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed.