QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — In a series of counterterrorism operations over a span of 40 hours, Pakistani police and military forces reported killing more than 100 individuals described as “Indian-backed terrorists” in the conflict-ridden province of Balochistan. This announcement came on Sunday, following coordinated suicide and gun attacks that resulted in the deaths of 33 individuals, predominantly civilians.
The operations, which commenced early Saturday across various locations in Balochistan, were brutal, resulting in the deaths of 18 civilians, including five women and three children, alongside 15 security personnel. Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, stated in a press conference in Quetta that security forces swiftly responded, leading to the death of 145 members of the group referred to as “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a term the government uses to denote the allegedly Indian-backed outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Bugti noted that this number of militants killed is unprecedented in recent decades.
Bugti emphasized that the corpses of the 145 individuals killed were under government custody, with some being identified as Afghan nationals. He claimed that these "Indian-backed terrorists" had intended to take hostages but were deterred before reaching the city center. Accompanied by senior government official Hamza Shafqat, who oversees operations against insurgents, Bugti acknowledged the efficient actions of military, police, and paramilitary forces in thwarting the attacks.
The militant assaults occurred in Balochistan, a region rich in resources, where Pakistan is actively attempting to draw foreign investments in mining and minerals. A U.S. metals company recently signed a $500 million investment agreement with the government, following the U.S. State Department's designation of the BLA and its armed faction as a foreign terrorist organization in August 2025.
Residents of Quetta expressed panic following the suicide bombing that claimed the lives of several police officers on Saturday. A local resident, Khan Muhammad, described it as “a very scary day in the history of Quetta,” recounting how armed men roamed the streets before security forces intervened.
Bugti consistently implicated India and Afghanistan in a conspiracy supporting the assailants. He alleged that senior leaders of the BLA, which took responsibility for the recent violence, were operating from Afghan territory. Both Kabul and New Delhi have denied these accusations. Bugti reiterated that Afghanistan’s Taliban had agreed under the 2020 Doha Agreement to prevent Afghan territory from being used as a launch pad for attacks against other nations, lamenting that “unfortunately, the Afghan soil was still being used against Pakistan.”
Heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been evident since early October when Pakistan conducted airstrikes on what it labeled as the hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban within Afghanistan, leading to numerous casualties among the alleged insurgents.
Bugti further reported that militants had attacked the residence of a Baloch laborer in Gwadar, resulting in the tragic deaths of five women and three children. He condemned these killings and mentioned that the attackers had planned to capture hostages after attacking government offices in Quetta's high-security area but were thwarted by the preparedness of security forces, as they had foreseen the militants' intentions.
The BLA, which is banned in Pakistan, has executed numerous attacks in recent years, frequently targeting security personnel, Chinese investments, and infrastructure initiatives. Authorities allege that the group operates with the assistance of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, posing further challenges to stability in the region.
Balochistan has a long history of a separatist insurgency led by ethnic Baloch groups aiming for greater autonomy or independence from Pakistan’s central government. The BLA regularly engages in violent actions against Pakistani security forces, in addition to attacking civilians, including Chinese workers engaged in various developmental projects throughout the province.
