Footage of fire incident in Karachi falsely linked to BLA's train hijacking
The Verdict [False]
The viral video shows a fire incident in Karachi and is unrelated to the recent BLA train attack.
What is the claim?
Social media users have circulated a video depicting a fire raging across a large area with claims that it shows scenes from the recent attack and hijacking of a passenger train by the separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The viral claim surfaced on social media platforms such as YouTube, X, and Instagram after BLA attacked and hijacked the Jaffar Express train, which was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar on March 11, 2025.
Some of these videos also have text overlaid that reads, “Pakistan Train Hijack: Baloch militants seize Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express, hold 450 passengers hostage.”
An X user shared the video and wrote, “Baloch Liberation Army hijacked Jaffar Express going from Quetta to Peshawar in Pakistan More than 400 passengers were on the train BLA said that if Pakistan takes military action, they will kill all the passengers #TrainHijack #Balochistan #Pakistan (sic).” At the time of writing this story, a similar post on X had amassed over 378,000 views and more than 2,100 likes.
Archived versions of this and other posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Screenshots of similar viral social media posts. (Source: X/Instagram/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, we found that the video is from a fire incident in Karachi and is unrelated to the recent BLA train attack.
What are the facts?
We conducted a reverse image search on one of the viral video's keyframes and found multiple identical videos reporting a recent fire incident in Karachi.
An Instagram video (archived here) uploaded by Geo News English on March 10, 2025, featured identical visuals to those of the viral video. This video was captioned, "A fire broke out near Mir Chakar area in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Maymar on Monday. The cause of the blaze remains unknown. #GeoNews #Karachi."
View this post on Instagram
At the timestamp of 20 seconds of the viral video, a similar shed, a tree on the left side, and a steel sitting table can be observed at the 0:07 timestamp in the Geo News English video. The surrounding visuals and elements confirm that the viral video originates from Karachi, not the recent train attack site.
Similarities between the viral and Geo News video. (Source: X/Instagram/Geo News/Modified by Logically Facts)
With the help of keyword searches, we found multiple news reports that featured visuals identical to those in the viral video (archived here and here). According to these reports, on March 10, 2025, a fire erupted near the Karachi Super Highway, which subsequently spread to the nearby timber shops and engulfed the entire market near the Maymar Mor area (archived here).
Furthermore, no news reports linked the Karachi fire incident to the recent BLA passenger train attack.
The verdict
A video of a fire incident at a market in Karachi has been falsely shared as scenes from the recent passenger train attack by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
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EAM Jaishankar holds talks with EU counterparts in Brussels, discusses Iran conflict
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his counterparts from the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) in Brussels focusing on global flashpoints in Ukraine and West Asia as well as ways to deepen India's relations with Europe.
Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to the Belgian capital at the invitation of EU Foreign and Security Policy Chief Kaja Kallas to attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the bloc.
It is the first high-level visit from India to Brussels headquartered EU after the two sides firmed up a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in January.
The external affairs minister held separate meetings with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and his counterparts from Germany, Greece and Belgium.
"A new chapter in India-EU ties has opened up in 2026," Jaishankar said in an apparent reference to the outcomes reached by the two sides in their summit meeting in January in New Delhi.
"The Foreign Ministers coordinate translating the various agreements into outcomes. Our conversation today therefore covered trade, investment, technology, mobility and defence in particular," he said on social media.
"The stronger convergence between India and EU in a multipolar world is also expressed in closer consultations. Discussed the West Asia conflict, the Ukraine situation and the Indo-Pacific in today's gathering," he said.
Apart from the FTA, the India-EU summit produced a plethora of other outcomes including a security and defence partnership and a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility.
The Foreign Affairs Council discussed how to better protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including possible contributions by the EU's naval mission Aspides, and a European security strategy, Kallas told reporters.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
The West Asia region has been a major source of India's energy procurement.
The closure of the strait is hurting the global economy and it is helping Moscow fund its war, Kallas said, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on procurement of Russian crude oil.
She said the focus on the Middle East should not take the focus away from the war in Ukraine, and the easing of US sanctions on Russian oil sets a "dangerous precedent".
Following his meeting with Von der Leyen, Jaishankar said her highly successful state visit to India in January marked a "turning point" in India-EU ties. "We are following up vigorously on it."
Von der Leyen said that the two sides had concluded a free trade agreement, "the mother of all deals", and signed the Security and Defence Partnership.
"Now we are focused on efficient implementation, to deliver for the people of Europe and India as soon as possible," she said.
"We also discussed developments in the Middle East and in Ukraine. De-escalation, stability and energy security are our shared objectives," she added.
After his talks with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Jaishankar said they exchanged notes on the conflict in West Asia.
"A valuable exchange of notes on the conflict in West Asia. Also took stock of the progress of our bilateral relations following the State visit of @bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz to India," he said.
