Balochistan | Pakistan

QUETTA: Iranian Consul General in Quetta Ali Reza Rajaei and President of the Zahidan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Hakim Regi have invited Balochistan’s industrialists and business community to launch joint ventures with Iranian investors in Mirjaveh Free Zone. They said that the Iranian government will extend all facilities and incentives for starting joint ventures with Iranian entrepreneurs and investors. They extended the offer during a meeting with business leaders and representatives of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Small Chamber of Commerce and Small Industries and the Pak-Iran Chamber of Commerce in Quetta on Saturday. The Iranian officials emphasised that achieving the $10 billion bilateral trade target between Pakistan and Iran depends on cooperation. They also congratulated Balochistan’s business community on the resumption of Quetta-Zahedan flight services via Mashhad. The Iranian envoy and members of the delegation expressed satisfaction over recent agreements signed ...

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Saturday asserted that no group of armed militants could impose its ideology on the 250 million citizens of Pakistan. The security situation in Balochistan has worsened in recent months, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. In February, nearly 62 per cent of the total terrorism-related deaths in the country occurred in Balochistan. Speaking during a conference in Quetta, CM Bugti emphasised that peace was steadily returning to Balochistan and reaffirmed the state’s unwavering support for its people against forces seeking to destabilise the province. Bugti described Balochistan as the heart of Pakistan, without which the nation was incomplete. He lamented the lack of attention given to the province’s positive realities and the limited recognition of its voices. The chief minister condemned the spread of anti-state narratives. “Balochistan faces challenges, but poverty and underdevelop...

ISLAMABAD - At least 33 Indian-sponsored Khwarij were sent to hell when they were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Sambaza area of Zhob District in Balochistan late Thursday night, security officials said on Friday.

QUETTA: Pakistan has suspended cell phone data services for three weeks in the province of Balochistan in a bid to block communications among miscreants behind a surge in recent attacks, an official and the government said. In an order seen by Reuters, the government said the services would be suspended until the end of the […]

Security forces killed 33 terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Friday, the military’s media wing said in a statement. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a large group of terrorists belonging to the “Indian proxy Fitna al Khwaraj”, were trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border when they were detected by the security forces in the Sambaza area of Balochistan’s Zhob district on the night of August 7 and 8. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement added that the troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate, adding, “As a result of precise, bold and skilful engagement, thirty three Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell.” A large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered, it added. “The security forces of Pakistan remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation’s frontiers a...

Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind on Friday said that mobile data services in the province have been suspended until August 31 over “security reasons”. In recent months, the security situation in Balochistan has worsened, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. In February, nearly 62 per cent of the total terrorism-related deaths in the country occurred in Balochistan. The move came after a notification issued by the Balochistan Home Department on Aug 6, seen by Dawn.com, ordered the immediate suspension of data services until Aug 31, citing the “peculiar law and order situation” in the province. “It is, therefore, requested to please direct the concerned authorities for suspension/closure of 3G and 4G services in the entire province … to avoid any untoward incident,” the notification read. “The service has been suspended because they (militants) use it for coordination and sharing information,” Rind said, according to Reu...

The Pakistan Navy and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Thursday seized about 1,250 kilogrammes of illicit drugs worth $38 million from smugglers near Balochistan’s Pasni coast, the navy’s media wing said. The navy and ANF have previously worked in several intelligence-based joint operations to counter unlawful activities along the coast. “The value of the seized consignment in the international market is approximately $38 million,” a press release from the navy said. “The consignment was being smuggled via the Arabian Sea to international destinations.” It added that the seized items, comprising 1,100kg of hashish, 50kg of crystal meth, and 100kg of heroin, have been handed over to the ANF for further legal proceedings. “This successful operation by the Pakistan Navy and ANF, resulting in [the] seizure of a large quantity of drugs, is a testament to PN’s resolve to fight against illegal activities as a national obligation,” the statement said. “Pakistan Navy will continue to shoulder its responsibility to es...

Mobile internet services have been suspended across Balochistan, including the provincial capital Quetta, due to heightened security concerns, provincial authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday revealed that enforced disappearances and other issues were fuelling public alienation and political instability in Balochistan following a fact-finding mission to the province. According to the report, titled Balochistan’s Crisis of Trust, the HRCP undertook the mission from July 9-12 to respond to the “escalating concerns over the deteriorating state of fundamental rights and civic freedoms in the province”. The mission aimed to examine the state of fundamental freedoms in the province and the broader impact of conflict and militarisation on civilian life, the report said in its terms of reference. In a press release issued today, the HRCP said: “The mission’s findings reveal a disturbing pattern of continued enforced disappearances, shrinking civic space, erosion of provincial autonomy and unchecked impunity — conditions that continue to fuel public alienation and political instability.” The mission observed that the state’s framing of the issue “...

The government has achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing efforts to rehabilitate flood-affected communities in Balochistan by completing the construction of 5,000 houses, with work currently underway on an additional 27,000 units.

KARACHI - President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday directed Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti to further improve peace and security in Balochistan, besides taking measures to uplift people’s living standards there.

KARACHI: A free-will marriage couple who had married six years ago were found brutally murdered along with their minor son at their home in Karachi’s Ghaghar Phatak area on Wednesday. According to police, the victims — identified as Abdul Majeed, his wife Sakina, and their son Abdul Nabi — were killed with sharp-edged weapons. Two […]

A couple was shot dead by the woman’s family over ‘honour’ in Balochistan’s Mastung district, police said on Wednesday. The incident comes over a week after the killing of a man and a woman in the Degari area of Quetta on the orders of a tribal jirga ahead of Eidul Azha for so-called ‘honour’. The police had subsequently arrested at least 14 suspects for their involvement in the incident. Wali Khan Station House Officer Pir Muhammad Alizai said in a statement today that the deceased couple got married seven years ago. “The couple was travelling from Panjgur to Lakpass in a pickup upon the invitation of the woman’s brothers,” the police said. “The suspects told them to wait at the Noshki Cross, arrived on two motorcycles at about 7am on Tuesday, shot the couple dead with a pistol, and fled.” “Action to arrest the suspects is underway,” SHO Alizai said. According to a first information report (FIR) of the incident, dated July 29, seen by Dawn.com, the deceased were travelling with their two children and brother...

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Deputy Ameer Liaqat Baloch has affirmed that the "Haq Do Balochistan March" will proceed as planned, stressing that no one in Balochistan feels secure.

Corps Commander Balochistan, Lieutenant General Rahat Naseem Ahmad Khan, conducted a special interactive session with university students from across Balochistan.

ISLAMABAD - The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution urging the government to ensure an immediate and transparent investigation into the recent public execution of a man and a woman in broad daylight in Balochistan, in name of so-called honour, under a verdict by a jirga.

NEWLY elected PTI senators Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Noor ul Haq Qadri and Faisal Javed take oath.—White Star • Resolution rejects justification for such crimes on cultural grounds • House passes Whistleblower Protection Commission Bill, okays 20pc reward for exposing corruption • Navy Ordinance amended with stricter penalties for misconduct • Eight new senators sworn in ISLAMABAD: Alarmed by a brutal act of vigilante justice in Balochistan, where a man and woman were executed in broad daylight under a jirga verdict in the name of “honour”, the Senate on Thursday called for an immediate and transparent investigation to bring all perpetrators — inclu­ding those who convened or sanctioned the jirga — to justice. In a resolution adopted almost unanimously, the Senate declared that so-called honour killings were not “honourable”, rather constituted murder under the law and must be prosecuted as such. The resolution, tabled by PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman, was supported by all parties across the ais...

A bogie of the Quetta-bound Bolan Mail sustained partial damage on Thursday after an explosion targeted a railway track in Balochistan’s Sibi district, railway and security officials confirmed.

Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest and most resource-rich province — rarely makes headlines, and when it does, it’s often for tragic reasons: bombings, attacks on passenger buses, targeted killings, enforced disappearances, arrest of activists, or political upheavals. In recent years, another deeply troubling issue has pushed its way into the spotlight — a rise in gender-based violence and ‘honour’ killings. While such violence has long haunted the province, the proliferation of smartphones, internet access, and social media have made it increasingly difficult to keep these crimes hidden. Over the weekend, one such incident sparked nationwide outrage: a harrowing video emerged online, showing a woman and a man being killed by a group of men in the outskirts of Quetta — reportedly in the name of honour. At a press conference on Monday evening, while sharing details of the so-called honour-based killing, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti disputed reports that the victims were a newly married couple. “Th...

Security forces have killed four more terrorists during a sanitisation operation in Balochistan’s Kalat district, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday. A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that a deliberate sanitisation operation was conducted in the district’s surrounding areas on Monday following a successful intelligence-based operation on Saturday in which four terrorists belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al-Hindustan, were killed. “During the conduct of the operation, four more terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan were hunted down and successfully neutralised. “Terrorist hideout was also busted and a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered,” the ISPR said of the sanitisation operation. It added that security forces remained determined to “thwart attempts by Indian proxies at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan”. In May, the government designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna al-Hindu­stan — a new phr...