Allow the mind travels,

 but let your consciousness overgrow the final destination.

(from ‘Sufi’s reflections’, Roxolana Zigon)

On 11 March 2025, the world was shaken by the unprecedented terrorist attack on the peaceful civilians on Jaffar Express. Pakistani passenger train travelling from people reportedly on board, was hijacked by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The attackers detonated explosives in the tunnel and opened fire on the train. At least 25 innocent people were killed in the attack. The organization issued a 48-hour ultimatum in which Baloch political prisoners had to be released or else the hostages were to be “punished,” although they did release some of them.

A malicious act of deterrence that aimed at demonstrating to the Pakistani authorities as well as to the whole global community the might of the terror that knows no borders, races or religions

That was a 36-hours drama, the most audacious militant assault in Pakistan in years, a malicious act of deterrence that aimed at demonstrating to the Pakistani authorities as well as to the whole global community the might of the terror that knows no borders, races or religions.

Today, the Pakistani security forces declared an end to ethnic separatists’ seizure of a train carrying more than 400 people. According to the official database there were 33 terrorists eliminated, 25 innocent people killed, while 346 hostages were safely rescued. The special operation is over but the train of terror has not been stopped yet. Its spine is alive as it is still connected to the brain cord of the ideology of fear.

A long-coveted sense of re-affirmation of the strong partnership with Pakistan, sealed by a pledge to support the country in ensuring the safety and security of its citizens, does not appear as a bullet-proof shield against terrorism in Pakistan

In spite of a crackling rhetoric of condemnation of the BLA’s terrorist attack on Jaffar Express in Pakistan from the side of the US Embassy, the European Union’s Ambassador Riina Kionka, expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the victims, their families, and all those affected by the tragic incident. Yet a long-coveted sense of re-affirmation of the strong partnership with Pakistan, sealed by a pledge to support the country in ensuring the safety and security of its citizens, does not appear as a bullet-proof shield against terrorism in Pakistan.

Pakistan continues its fight against terror in the atmosphere of the well-orchestrated verbal support of the International political and diplomatic circles, which is far from being sufficient and effective

Unfortunately, all the bullets that target terrorism, continue lodging it in its spine. Pakistan continues its fight against terror in the atmosphere of the well-orchestrated verbal support of the International political and diplomatic circles, which is far from being sufficient and effective. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who joined the members of the orchestra in expressing their concern and condemnation of the hijacking of a train in Pakistan’s  Balochistan province, demonstrates an ultimate form of the Western hemisphere’s unawareness of the lack of a strong will to address terrorism as an existential threat and a spiritual disease of mankind.

The era of the ‘well-tuned’ chorus scores against terror is over. Globalism with its shimmering belief of uniting markets, capitals, manpower, resources and cultures under one ideological shelter was demolished along with the idealism of its ideologists as the Tower of Babel, an egoistic elevation of the man’s pride, was destroyed by God.

The time of standing aside and observing the way Pakistan bleeds from the open wounds of terrorism is gone.

In the context of the current geopolitical shifts, whereas every grand player nourishes his ego of regaining might, power and greatness on account of the ‘others’, the issue of borderless terrorism, a common threat for all the politically scattered and differently directed parties on the global stage, is a wound that may turn into an apocalyptic abyss.

The ‘curse’ of this philosophy forces us to see ‘fear’ as a symbol of our times with its socio-political, environmental and economic crises.

While searching for the reasons for the existing state of things we should not forget that philosophy of fearism emerges in the times of the great collective crisis. The irrational aspects of human condition and behavior overlaps the social and political order and challenging us to overview ourselves the way we truly are. The ‘curse’ of this philosophy forces us to see ‘fear’ as a symbol of our times with its socio-political, environmental and economic crises.

Thus, fear becomes a breeding ground for the terror that cannot be ignored or denied by any state in the world. Terrorism is a language that gains a new consonant every day and leaves no space for the vowels to bring harmony, balance and peace to the order of co-existence between individuals, nations, states and civilizations.

According to Plato, Aristotle and Cicero, the major political threat to the Greco-Roman world was tyranny. The leading theologians of the church, among them Thomas of Aquinas and John of Salisbury, were similarly preoccupied by the threat of tyrannical oppression. However, while Greek and the Roman philosophers sanctioned the elimination of the tyrant, Christian theologians adopted a more complex approach and vision.

Thomas of Aquinas, for example, distinguished between the tyrannus ex defectu tituli (usurper) whom any individual was licensed to kill, and the tyrannus ex parte exerati (a legitimate ruler whose exercise of power was tyrannical) who could be punished only by public authority.

An explicit defense of tyrannicide used to be a distinctive characteristic of the Western philosophical thought since ‘prehistoric terrorism’ era has emerged.

Today every geopolitical grand player allows himself to address burning issues loudly in fear of being not placed on the right train of history. However, all the geopolitical passengers that take their seats on that train should be aware of a common threat of becoming hostages of the terror.

In the poetic book “The Prophet” authored by a renowned Lebanese-American philosophical essayist, novelist, poet, and artist Khalil Gibran there is a verse “Pain”, where a woman asks, “Tell us of Pain”, and receives the answer: “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain”.

It is not just a problem of the national or regional security, but an existential challenge for the whole humanity, a threat that knows no borders or hesitation to strike anyone at any time of his life journey

This stance inevitably refers to the awareness of the ‘stone of the fruit that must break’ and an urgent need for the global community to stand with Pakistan shoulder to shoulder in the fight against terrorism, since it is not just a problem of the national or regional security, but an existential challenge for the whole humanity, a threat that knows no borders or hesitation to strike anyone at any time of his life journey.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.