Fact-check: Debunking the Misinformation of Jaffer Train Hijack with respect to India

The Jaffer Express, a passenger train travelling from Quetta to Peshwar and carrying around 380 passengers, was hijacked by BLA separatists and hostaging several passengers. It prompted a rescue operation by Pakistan forces, eventually releasing more than 300 passengers and eliminating the insurgents. As per recent updates, CTD has arrested four suspects in this case. Amid this, a Pakistan-based journalist turned active on X and shared some images of an Indian diplomat, claiming that he has been proven to be behind the Jaffer Express Train Hijack tragedy!

An account named Sadia Khalid (anchor and journalist as per X’s bio) posted some images and wrote a brief note in Urdu, on X, citing that Indian RAW Agent Ajit John Joshua has been proven to be behind the Jaffer Express tragedy. Quoting Open Source Intelligence, a former officer of the Indian intelligence agency RAW and known as an ambassador, is currently planning terrorism in Balochistan from a country near Pakistan.

Fact-check

The DFRAC team investigated this post and found it to be false.

Firstly, we conducted a Google keyword search in this regard and found that no reports have come to light mentioning the name of Ajit John Joshua behind this incident.

Investigating further, we came across Ajit John Joshua X’s handle, revealing that he is not an Indian RAW agent as claimed in the viral post, but an IFS officer.

Furthermore, we found his image on the Facebook page named Unofficial: Diplomats of India. The image was posted in November 2017 with the caption: “Shri Ajith John Joshua (IFS:2014), Under Secretary (CADRE, CCP, PA-111 & Transport) at MEA, New Delhi”.

Lastly, we stumbled upon his LinkedIn profile, citing that he has been serving as the Consulate General of India in Hong Kong. Moreover, he joined the civil services in 2014.

As per the information given on the website of Passport Seva website, Shri Ajith John Joshua serves as the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Apparently, there were no sources available asserting that he is an Indian RAW agent as claimed in the above shared post.

Conclusion

It is clear from DFRAC’s fact-check that the post made by a Pakistani journalist claiming that Indian RAW Agent Ajit John Joshua has been proven to be behind the Jaffer Express Train Hijack tragedy is completely fake and fabricated, since no pieces of evidence are available online in this regard. It seems that pictures of an IFS officer have been taken from his social media handles and falsely associated with this tragedy.

Analysis: Fake