I first traveled on Jaffar Express from Rawalpindi to Quetta to meet and spend time with my maternal grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins in my teen years. These trips became frequent, during summer holidays. A lot of excitement used to be in the air when we were told that we were about to travel through Jaffar Express. We kids would assume that the train leaving from Rawalpindi to Quetta and back was named after our maternal grandfather Sheikh Jaffar (In fact it was named after Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali, who was a prominent Baloch tribal leader and an active member of the Pakistan Movement). Our maternal grandfather Sheikh Jaffer made a great contribution to the people of Baluchistan as he had spent many decades serving in the education sector; settled since the time of partition after migrating from the city of Jalandhar and making Quetta his home. A decision that eventually made the family well known in Quetta and it started our life-long association with Quetta city and its people.
As Jaffer Express used to leave the station, we, the four siblings, our father, a proud Pakistan Army officer, and my mother who grew up in Quetta, were all filled with excitement and anticipation of what this journey would bring. I still have vivid memories of the journey. The red-clothed Kuli Sahab would pick our luggage on his shoulders and I wondered how this young man would hold on to the heavy luggage that used to carry our clothes and gifts for family during our stay at Quetta that lasted more than a month and a half each time.
We carried notebooks, and as Jaffar Express passed the stations, we would start writing the names of the cities that came along the way. I went on to memorise the names of most cities in Pakistan during our train journey rather than learning them from textbooks.
The journey was like passing through the entire Pakistan, touching Jhelum, Gujarat, Gujranwala, and Lahore on the way to Multan, Bahawalpur, passing.
When I heard about the attack on Jaffar Express, it was as if someone had attacked my ancestors and heritage
Sukkur Barrage, Jacobabad, and entering the beautiful, and our very own, Baluchistan. We passed through Naseerabad and Kolpur, leading to Quetta. I can recall the excitement we felt while the additional Locomotive was attached at Abe-Gum (آب گم), and also a 2nd engine was provided at Mach till Kolpur. In fact, at Mach, the train entered the station in reverse direction.
Jaffar Express had family compartments, a general enclosure, and a kitchen from where some delicious food and snacks were served. We used to enjoy the privacy of our ‘family compartment’ on the way, with enough space for all six of us traveling. The births were spacious and luxurious. The service of Pakistan Railway was immaculate and classy. I remember the ticket checker knocking at the door and respectfully checking tickets.
The buzzing sound of moving train, the whistling when approaching a station, the changing track noise, the ever-changing scenery from the plains of Punjab to the most amazing Sukkur Barrage, rivers flowing to the rigid mountains - watching all of that from the train, was beautiful. The view of winding train tracks and the engine itself was all too romantic.
Our father would show us his love and affection. He would get the choicest food from the station/s for us. As much as we loved the food served from the Kitchen on Jaffar Express, he would entertain us by picking up specialties from different stations; the famous Sohan Halwa from Multan, the fish from Sukkur and delicious Achar from Shikarpur.
As we travelled, the most amazing change of scenery would take us to Baluchistan where mountains would greet us, bringing immense joy; and a very different view from the rest of the country. It was a series of tunnels between the mountains that we would so eagerly await. From sunshine to complete darkness; the change of sound echoing in the tunnel; the excitement that we were passing through a tunnel for so long that we would not see light for many seconds; counting time as we passed through the tunnel; it was all too special. The time spent together as a family had its joy. Playing cards and ludo, hearing stories from parents, our mother telling us about her journey every year from Quetta to Rawalpindi and back; memories we still cherish.
Every station used to buzz with people from all classes of society traveling together. The stops at stations were engaging and long stoppages were only due to single track; the train would stop and wait at the station till the train from the other side crossed.
The railway guards would keep a watch. We would talk about the chain hanging in each compartment for use in an emergency. As a teenager, we would make silly plans to stop the train by pulling the chain down. There was so much to the journey…
Last week, when I heard about the attack on Jaffar Express, it was as if someone had attacked my ancestors and heritage. The worst part was that the attack was from the people of that great land. The perpetrators, the Barbarians, were our people. They may have been guided, supported, and led by our enemy but the real pain comes from the fact that attackers were domiciled from Baluchistan. We condemn the act and deplore the waging of war from within by this gang of so-called separatists.
The ideology has taken the shape of insanity and bloodshed. I ask myself - can I be on the train with my kids on Jaffar Express? The answer to it is a big disappointing NO. My eldest son is of the same age as I was when these wonderful memories were created. I lived these memories and my children may only read about them like they read history books. My beautiful Baluchistan is certainly not history. It is the future for them. We have to bring a future back to them where they can create these memories with their kids. We have never given up on Baluchistan and will never give it in the hands of those who have been led to believe that we are their enemies.
I am hopeful for a better and bright future because one of my students, who belongs to the Bughti tribe near Sui, Baluchistan, got top position in his law exams at our Law College (based in Punjab), and another colleague of mine at Islamabad left for Quetta only yesterday, not through Jaffar Express though - this time only!