Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday visited the restive Balochistan province to review the law and order situation and to express solidarity with the people there following the Jaffar Express hijacking incident in which 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed.

Pakistan freed 190 hijacked train passengers held hostage Wednesday as the battle to free remaining hostages held by the militant group Baloch Liberation Army continued.

Police say at least three people were injured in the attack and it is unclear how many people are being held hostage.

Pakistani insurgents took over a passenger train carrying an estimated 500 people on Tuesday, with the separatists threatening to kill some 182 hostages if their demands are not met.

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.

At least 16 militants have been killed and 100 passengers were freed as of Wednesday morning, local media reported. The BBC has not been able to independently verify those figures. Among those released are 17 injured passengers, who have been admitted to hospital for treatment.

Pakistan’s prime minister has commended the country’s armed forces for successfully rescuing 339 passengers after a deadly train hijacking by insurgents in the southwest

The scope of the attack underscored the struggles Pakistan faces in efforts to reign in militant groups as attacks across the country surged in recent years. Accusing India and neighboring Afghanistan has been Pakistan's go-to strategy in the past.

Hostages freed after a day-long ordeal following an attack by militants on a train in Pakistan's Balochistan province described crouching on the floor for hours before their release, as the bodies of 25 people killed arrived in Quetta.