Coordinated Attacks in Balochistan Result in 80 Fatalities

Coordinated attacks across 12 locations in Pakistan's Balochistan province have resulted in the deaths of at least 70 militants and 10 security personnel, officials reported on Saturday. The assaults, which began on Friday night and extended into Saturday, targeted security forces, police installations, and civilians, prompting counter-operations by the army and law enforcement agencies.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind identified the affected areas as Quetta, Gwadar, Makran, Hub, Chaman, Naseerabad, and Nushki. Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar stated that militants attacked police posts and Frontier Corps positions but were repelled by alert security forces, forcing the assailants to retreat. Authorities also reported that explosives planted on a railway track in Naseerabad district were defused. In Gwadar, militants killed civilians, including members of a family, according to Tarar.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti confirmed that 70 militants had been killed, with clearance operations still underway. Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reported that 10 policemen and Frontier Corps personnel were killed. These incidents follow earlier counter-terror operations in Panjgur and Harnai, where 41 militants were killed earlier this week.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating it had launched the second phase of 'Operation Herof' across Balochistan. In a statement attributed to its spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, the group claimed its fighters had taken control of the Counter Terrorism Department headquarters in Nushki and overrun a Frontier Corps facility, alleging that Pakistani soldiers were killed during the assaults. Pakistani authorities have not confirmed these claims.

Officials are working to identify the militants killed in the operations to determine whether they belonged solely to Baloch insurgent groups or also included members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Balochistan has experienced a steady escalation in militant violence in recent years. Data from the Centre for Research and Security Studies indicated that fatalities in the province rose by nearly 22 percent last year. The Pak Institute for Peace Studies reported that terror attacks across Pakistan increased by 34 percent in 2025, with 699 incidents recorded nationwide.