Pakistan’s prime minister traveled to restive southwestern Balochistan province to meet survivors of a train attack and the commandos who rescued over 300 passengers from the insurgents who killed 21 civilians and four troops.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to Balochistan province Thursday to meet with 300 survivors and the troops who rescued them after a Baloch Liberation Army train attack that began Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s neglected southwestern province of Balochistan has been the scene of a yearslong insurgency, with a dramatic uptick in attacks in recent years underscoring the struggles the government in Islamabad faces in dealing with myriad security threats.

Mehboob Hussain was riding the train home on Tuesday when the tracks under the front car exploded. In the depths of central Pakistan's Bolan Pass, a pocket of wilderness so remote that there is no internet or mobile network coverage, the nine-coach Jaffar Express ground to a halt. Then the bullets started flying.

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 Pakistani government, facing a widening security crisis in the country’s restive southwest, has given little indication it intends to negotiate with the militants.