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.

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.

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

Insurgents who attacked a passenger train carrying 440 passengers in restive southwestern Pakistan killed 21 hostages before

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.