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Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan army says 8 India-linked militants killed in two-day sweep in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed eight militants in operations conducted over two days in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday, describing the insurgents as Indian proxies. The fighting took place in Kalat district during an intelligence-based operation targeting suspected 'Fitna al Hindustan,' a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by neighbor and archrival India. Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has long been the site of separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi denies. 'Following the successful intelligence based operation conducted by the security forces in Kalat District of Balochistan on 19 July 2025, during which 4 x terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan were sent to hell; on 21 July 2025, a deliberate sanitization operation was conducted in the surrounding areas,' the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said in a statement. 'During the conduct of the operation, four more terrorists of Fitna al Hindustan were hunted down and successfully neutralized.' The military said a hideout was also 'busted' and a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered. In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the Kalat operation and reaffirmed his government's resolve to eliminate terrorism. 'The terrorists who seek to harm the lives and property of innocent citizens will have their nefarious ambitions buried,' Sharif said in a statement issued by his office. 'We will uproot Fitna al Hindustan, the enemy of Pakistan's sovereignty.' The operation follows a series of recent accusations and military tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, including most recently when they engaged in a four-day long air war in May. India and Pakistan have in the past fought multiple wars over the disputed Kashmir region and regularly trade blame over cross-border militancy.
Arab News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Three killed, 12 injured as gunmen target passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: Three people were killed while 12 others were injured in Pakistan's southwestern Kalat district on Wednesday, police and an official confirmed, after unidentified men opened fire on a passenger bus headed toward Quetta. Kalat Station House Office (SHO) Habibullah Baloch said unidentified armed men shot indiscriminately at a passenger bus from Karachi headed toward Quetta on Wednesday. The attack took place near Nimragh Cross in Kalat district, located on the N-25 highway connecting Balochistan to the southern port city of Karachi. 'Three passengers, residents of Karachi, were killed in the attack and 12 others were wounded,' Baloch told Arab News, adding that the injured were shifted to the District Hospital Kalat for treatment. The police official said the attackers did not stop the bus to check the National Identity Cards (NICs) of the passengers before firing at them, adding that the gunmen 'sprayed' the vehicle with bullets. He said dozens of passengers were traveling in the bus, adding that most of them were residents of Karachi. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind condemned the attack in a statement. 'The security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt for the attackers is underway,' Rind said. The latest attack has taken place after gunmen abducted and killed nine people last week when they stopped two passenger buses on a highway in Balochistan's Zhob and Loralai districts. Those buses were traveling from Quetta to the eastern Punjab province. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces, particularly Punjab, the country's most populous and prosperous province and a major recruitment base for the military. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups operating in the mineral-rich region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The group accuses the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab and other parts of the country. The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Pakistan accuses India of backing separatists in Balochistan as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. New Delhi denies the allegations. Balochistan has seen a rise in militant attacks since last year. Last August, nearly two dozen passengers were killed after BLA militants forcibly removed them from Punjab-bound buses in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan. Another seven Punjabi commuters were offboarded from buses and killed in Balochistan's Barkhan district in February this year. In March, BLA separatists hijacked a train that carried hundreds of passengers near Balochistan's Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.
Associated Press
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Gunmen fire on a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan and kill 3 people
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding seven others, police and government officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Kalat district of Balochistan province, where a number of separatist militant groups are seeking independence from Pakistan's government. The bus was traveling from the Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta to the southern port city of Karachi when gunmen opened fire in Kalat and then fled the scene, local police chief Habib Nichari said. Ambulances were transporting the dead and wounded to a nearby hospital, he said. The latest attack came days after gunmen abducted and killed nine people when they stopped two passenger buses on a highway in the Zhob and Loralai districts of Balochistan. Those buses were traveling from Quetta to the eastern Punjab province. Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government, said security forces responded to the latest attack immediately, and an operation was underway to track down the culprits. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and alleged that Indian-backed separatists were responsible. However, he offered no evidence to back up the claim. Pakistan routinely accuses the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army group of carrying out such attacks. Baluchistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in southwestern Pakistan with an array of separatist groups, including the BLA, demanding independence from Pakistan's central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in the province has persisted.
Express Tribune
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bugti urges rights groups to propagate impartial narrative
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has urged the human rights organizations to build an impartial and fact-based narrative of Balochistan's history, current realities, and overall situation. In a meeting with a delegation from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) at the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Quetta, the Balochistan CM said the ongoing narrative at national and international level regarding Balochistan is inconsistent with facts and it needs revision to reflect a balanced and accurate perspective. The meeting included in-depth discussions on law and order, human rights conditions, and the province's social development initiatives. Dwelling the history, Bugti highlighted that the accession of the Kalat state to Pakistan was based on mutual agreement rather than coercion, adding certain groups deliberately distorted historical facts to mislead those unfamiliar with the region's true history. Referring to recent terrorist incidents, he condemned the targeted killing of innocent citizens based on their identity, calling it a part of a broader agenda by hostile foreign powers, particularly India. "These terrorist acts have nothing to do with a struggle for rights but are part of an organised attempt to destabilise and divide Pakistan," said the Balochistan CM, adding the supporters of these groups have openly expressed their intentions on various national and international platforms. Questioning the legitimacy of such violent acts, Bugti asked, "What kind of rights movement involves killing people based on their ethnic identity?" Balochistan CM Mir Sarfraz Bugti pointed out that those elements rejected dialogue and openly spoke about dividing Pakistan, a mindset that was unacceptable in any civilized state or society.
Business Recorder
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
At least 13 soldiers martyred in Mir Ali attack
PESHAWAR: In a cowardly attack, planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India, and executed by its proxy Fitna al Khwarij, a security forces convoy was targeted on Saturday in general area Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, said a statement issued by ISPR here on Saturday. A vehicle borne suicide bomber attempted to explode him on a security forces convoy, who was intercepted by the leading group, foiling his nefarious design. However, in their desperation, the explosive laden vehicle was rammed by the Khwarij into one of the vehicles of the leading group. Resultantly, thirteen brave sons of soil embraced Shahadat. In this tragic and barbaric incident, three innocent civilians including two children and a woman also got severely injured. 18 soldiers martyred in Kalat operation: ISPR Shuhada include Subedar Zahid Iqbal (age: 45 years, resident of district Karak), Havildar Sohrab Khan (age: 39 years, resident of district Naseerabad), Havildar Mian Yousaf (age: 41 years, resident of district Buner), Naik Khitab Shah (age: 34 years, resident of district Lower Dir), Lance Naik Ismail (age: 32 years, resident of district Naseerabad), Sepoy Rohail (age: 30 years, resident of district Mirpurkhas), Sepoy Muhammad Ramzan (age: 33 years, resident of Dera Ghazi Khan), Sepoy Nawab (age: 30 years, resident of district Quetta), Sepoy Zubair Ahmed (age: 24 years, resident of district Naseerabad), Sepoy Muhammad Sahki (age: 31 years, resident of district Dera Ghazi Khan), Sepoy Hashim Abbasi (age: 20 years, resident of district Abbottabad), Sepoy Muddasir Ejaz (age: 25 years, resident of district Layyah), and Sepoy Manzar Ali (age: 23 years, resident of district Mardan). In the ensuing sanitisation operations, Khwarij were pursued and after intense fire exchange, fourteen of them were sent to hell by the security forces. The operations in the area would continue and perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act will be brought to justice. The statement said that the security forces of Pakistan along with the nation remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate Indian sponsored terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers and innocent civilians further reinforce our unwavering commitment of safeguarding our nation at all costs. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
