Balochistan | Pakistan

Eight miners were trapped inside a coal mine in Harnai, Balochistan, after poisonous gas spread through the mine, police said on Sunday.

Province projects more than $15bn in Chagai mining investment over seven years; puts unresolved missing-persons cases at 282 New provinces can be created in Balochistan on administrative grounds but not on linguistic basis: CM Bugti.

Security forces have killed 11 Indian-sponsored terrorists during intelligence-based operations in Balochistan’s Kharan and Washuk districts, according to a press release.

Says secure environment will facilitate development initiatives, improve prospects for people of Balochistan

Rail services from Balochistan to other parts of the country have been suspended for two days due to repair and maintenance work on the railway track, according to railway authorities.

ISLAMABAD - The security forces have killed forty-eight terrorists belonging to Indian proxies Fitna al Hindustan and Fitna al Khwarij in multiple operations across Balochistan during last 48 to 72 hours.

11 terrorists killed in K-P, Balochistan operations

ALTHOUGH Balochistan has been experiencing varying degrees of tumult for over two decades now, currently, the troubled province is witnessing near-constant terrorist activity and lawlessness. The rulers in both Islamabad and Quetta often downplay the situation, but there are moments when they themselves admit that all is not well in Balochistan. For instance, on Friday, when the nation was celebrating Independence Day, the province’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti extended an olive branch to those engaged in violence. Mr Bugti advised the lawless elements to “return to the national mainstream” and talk to the government. However, he added, and rightly so, that the state would not talk to those who were involved in the killing of innocent people. In recent times, terrorist activity in Balochistan has become noticeably brazen. While ordinary citizens and security personnel are often targeted, even the high-level guardians of the state are not safe. On Friday, Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove’s convoy ca...

QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove has said there were no “no-go areas” in the province, though terrorists remained active along the Quetta-Karachi national highway and security forces were conducting operations against them. Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, Mr Langove accused armed groups of carrying out terrorism and extortion in the name of an “independence struggle” and urged people to support the state and national institutions in the fight against terrorism. Mr Langove thanked the people of Balochistan for celebrating Independence Day with enthusiasm and praised the security forces for maintaining security across the province. He highlighted healthcare facilities provided in Kalat and Khaliqabad, saying residents, particularly women, had previously faced difficulties transporting patients to hospitals because ambulances were unavailable. The government had provided 30 to 35 ambulances in the two areas, he said, but alleged that terrorists had taken them away. Minister...

QUETTA: Despite the passage of three days, repair work on the damaged gas pipeline could not begin as several cities and towns in Balochistan, including parts of the provincial capital, remained without gas supply on Friday. The 18-inch-diameter main gas pipeline was blown up by unidentified people using explosives in the Bolan riverbed in Kachhi district on Wednesday night, disrupting gas supplies to several districts of Balochistan. Officials said the relevant security authorities had yet to provide clearance for repair teams to enter the affected area and replace the damaged pipeline. Gas supply was suspended to several towns and cities, including parts of Quetta, after the main pipeline was blown up in the Bolan area of Kachhi district. Officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) confirmed the incident and said the pipeline had been badly damaged, disrupting gas supplies. “The explosion occurred at the KMP-246 valve assembly in the Bolan riverbed area near Gorkat, around 700 to 800 metres from the ma...

ISLAMABAD: The government remains committed to the rehabilitation of every eligible family affected by the devastating floods of 2022, the Ministry of Planning and Development has said. The commitment comes in the wake of reports that the provincial and federal governments had restructured a World Bank-funded flood rehabilitation project, depriving a large number of affected families in Balochistan of the resilient homes they were promised. In a statement, the planning ministry maintained that 68,992 fully damaged or destroyed houses in Balochistan were identified as eligible for reconstruction assistance by the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). Each one of them remains entitled to the housing assistance committed under the Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Programme (IFRAP). In addition, the ministry said, the project provides self-recovery support for 58,016 partially damaged houses. Planning ministry says work has commenced on 74,988 houses, of which 26,357 have already been completed under o...

QUETTA: The gas supply to several towns and cities of Balochistan, including parts of the provincial capital, was suspended late on Wednesday after a main gas pipeline in Bolan area of Kachhi district was blown up by unidentified miscreants. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) confirmed the incident and said that the 18-inch wide gas pipeline was badly damaged, disrupting the supply. A statement by its spokesperson said that the explosion occurred at the KMP-246 Valve Assembly in the Bolan riverbed area near Gorkat, around 700 to 800 metres from the main Quetta-Sibi Road. It said that unknown people planted explosives under the pipeline in the riverbed and detonated it with a remote control. The company said the gas supply was suspended to Kolpur, Mach, Mastung, Kalat, Pishin, Ziarat and many parts of Quetta and added that consumers may face reduced gas pressure or supply. Local sources said unidentified individuals allegedly targeted the main valve of the gas pipeline with explosives in the Daraz Bent area o...

At least 18 terrorists were killed in Balochistan’s Surab district, including eight in a premature detonation, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said eight terrorists were killed when an “under preparation” vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) detonated. “An under preparation vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) detonated while being prepared by terrorists affiliated with Fitna Al Hindustan in Surab district of Balochistan.” The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The military’s media wing added that multiple terrorists were also injured in the explosion. However, the blast also killed three civilians in the area after a “secondary detonation of other explosives stored there”. Following the explosion, a contingent of security forces and police reached the incident site and “launched a comprehensive joint cl...

ISLAMABAD: Expressing serious displeasure over reputational challenges, the World Bank has warned that redirecting funds from a multi-billion-rupee resilient housing programme for the flood-affected population to infrastructure projects would further aggravate poverty in Balochistan. “Based on the socio-economic profile of the eligible household, the risk is not simply that households remain without housing assistance; rather, it is that existing vulnerabilities become mutually reinforcing and deepen over time,” the World Bank said in detailed communication to the federal and Balochistan governments. In this case, 84 per cent of eligible beneficiaries are ultra-poor and vulnerable, with 28pc earning less than $30 and another 26pc earning between $31 and $70 per month, while 39pc are tenants, 37pc are daily-wage labourers and 8pc are small farmers. These groups typically have limited savings, weak access to formal credit, few productive assets and low capacity to absorb shocks, WB said. After meetings with the...

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that deliberate attempts were being made to create a perception that the situation in Balochistan was deteriorating. He made this remark while addressing a press conference focused on the overall security situation in the country, particularly Balochistan. At the outset of the briefing, the military’s spokesperson said 40,348 intelligence-based operations had been conducted this year so far, adding that the figure covered operations carried out by all security forces, including police, civil armed forces, intelligence agencies and the armed forces. Of these operations, most were carried out in Balochistan, with the number exceeding 31,000, he said. The DG ISPR added that overall 3,145 terrorism incidents had taken place in the country in 2026, among which 1,971 were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,148 from Balochistan and 26 from other parts of the country. During this time, he continued, 2...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has met a delegation of traders and industrialists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan and assured them that the government would employ all available resources to resolve their issues and ensure their protection, the interior ministry said on Friday. In a statement on X, the ministry said representatives from all chambers of commerce spoke about the security situation in their respective provinces and the challenges they were facing. For his part, Naqvi briefed the delegation on the overall security situation in the country, particularly in KP and Balochistan, and the steps taken by the government in this regard, the statement added. “He assured the business community of complete cooperation,” it stated, further quoting Naqvi as saying: “The government will employ all available resources to resolve the issues of traders and industrialists and ensure their protection.” He further said that he would soon visit Peshawar and Quetta and hold detailed meetings with the busin...

QUETTA - A coal mine explosion killed at least 26 miners in Balochistan’s Sorange area, some 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Quetta with dozens of people still missing on Thursday.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has commended the security forces for executing highly successful, intelligence-based operations against Indian-sponsored terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, neutralizing 32 militants and decisively thwarting their hostile designs.

Security forces have killed 32 terrorists during operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan over the last 24 hours, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement released on Wednesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “comprehensive joint operations” were carried out in various parts of the two provinces, in continuation of action against the “terrorists nexus of India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan”. The state uses the term Fitna-al-Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and has designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. ISPR said that the operations in KP and Balochistan were aimed at weeding out terrorists and their facilitators. Multiple “intelligence-based area sanitisation and targeted operations” were conducted in KP’s Khyber on July 28 and 29, during which 24 terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij were killed, it said. Meanwhile, eight...

QUETTA: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai has convened a three-day jirga in Quetta to discuss the worsening security situation in Balochistan and find solutions to the issue. He said the issue was becoming increasingly serious and dangerous with each passing day. Speaking at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Tuesday, along with other party leaders, he said the jirga would be held from August 29 to 31. He also announced that countrywide protest rallies and demonstrations would be held on August 5 to mark three years of imprisonment of former prime minister Imran Khan. He said the proposed jirga would bring together political leaders, tribal elders and other stakeholders to deliberate on rising insecurity, attacks on highways, disruption of trade, burning of goods vehicles and the killing of judges, lawyers, political workers and civilians in the province. He added that after discussions, the jirga would prepare recom...