Balochistan | Pakistan

Throughout 2025, the Balochistan government rolled out a series of major initiatives aimed at strengthening agriculture, expanding education, and creating employment opportunities for young people across the province.

QUETTA: The Quetta valley and several towns and cities across Balochistan received the first winter rainfall on Saturday, ending a prolonged dry spell and bringing much-needed relief to growers facing drought-like conditions. However, the rains also disrupted normal life, suspending power supply and mobile networks, flooding roads and houses, and triggering road accidents that left two women dead and several others injured. Clouds had been hovering over Quetta and adjoining areas for the past two days, though weather experts initially ruled out significant rainfall, describing the system over Balochistan as weak and unlikely to cause torrential rain. Contrary to these forecasts, rain began around noon in parts of the Quetta valley and soon intensified, spreading across the provincial capital. As the rainfall strengthened, roads in urban areas were inundated with rainwater, leading to widespread traffic congestion. Power supply to Quetta was suspended shortly after the rain began, plunging large parts of the c...

Balochistan experienced widespread rainfall on Saturday, bringing much-needed relief after a prolonged dry period and easing drought-like conditions across large parts of the province.

A policeman and a civilian were martyred when terrorists attacked and looted a bank in Balochistan’s Panjgur area, according to police officials. According to police sources, a clash erupted when terrorists attempted to raid a private bank in Panjgur city and police responded, triggering a gun battle. Dara Khan, a constable with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), was martyred, while another civilian was killed. A source added that two policemen were also injured in the gun battle, while the suspects fled the scene. AFP, citing a police official, reported that Rs1 million had been stolen. Panjgur SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) Dost Muhammad Bugti told the media that the suspects arrived in four vehicles and that two bank raids were foiled after police responded. “If police had not responded, then all five banks in the city would have been robbed,” he said. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti issued a statement praising the response by the police and CTD, lauding them for ensuring the “safe...

The Pakistan Meterological Department (PMD) on Friday forecasted rain-thunderstorm and snowfall in the western and northern parts of the country over the weekend. “A shallow western disturbance is likely to approach western parts of the country on 12 December night,” it stated in its latest weather update, posted on X. Under the influence of the weather system, light to moderate rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills is expected in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, including “Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan, Malakand, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Buner, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir from December 13th to 15th, with occasional gaps,” the statement said. “Partly cloudy conditions with light rain/storm is expected in Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Waziristan, Quetta, Ziarat, Zhob, Sherani, Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, and Noshki on December 14th or 15.” It also forecasted drizzle in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Potohar region and light rain or ...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday dismissed a request by the Balochistan government seeking postponement of local government elections in Quetta, reaffirming that the polls will be held on December 28 as scheduled.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Monday filed a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking the postponement of the local government elections in Quetta that were scheduled to be held on December 28. Informed sources told Dawn that in the petition, Bugti cited the precarious law and order situation in the provincial capital and the suspension of internet services as the reasons for postponing the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) elections. He also said people have migrated due to winters, affecting voter participation. Earlier, the Balochistan government had requested the election commission to postpone the polls, citing similar reasons stated in today’s petition. The request was turned down. In other districts of Balochistan, local government elections were held three years ago, and the current bodies’ term would expire in nine months, the sources said. It is worth noting that the ECP completed all preparations for holding local body elections in Quetta, and the printing ...

Security forces have killed 12 terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Kalat district of Balochistan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday. According to the statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the IBO was conducted on Saturday on the reported presence of “terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna-al-Hindustan”. 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 ISPR statement detailed that during the operation yesterday, “own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, 12 Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell”. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were found in the terrorists’ possession, it said, adding that they had been “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrori...

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Sunday reaffirmed that militants would not be allowed to impose their agenda on the country, stressing that the people of Balochistan stand firmly with Pakistan’s security forces.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday that 14 terrorists were killed in three separate intelligence-based operations (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.. In a statement, the military’s media wing said nine khawarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij were killed on Friday. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It said an IBO was conducted in Tank on the reported presence of terrorists. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, seven khawarij were sent to hell,” the statement read. In a separate IBO conducted in Lakki Marwat, “two more khawarij were effectively neutralised by security forces”. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area,” the statement said. Later in the day, the ISPR said security forces conducted an IBO in Balochistan’s Dera ...

ISLAMABAD - National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday emphasized that addressing Balochistan’s challenges remains a top priority for Parliament.

The provincial governments of Punjab and Balochistan have issued the official schedule for winter vacations in all public and private educational institutions.

A severe cold wave continues to grip Quetta and several other regions of Balochistan, with temperatures dropping sharply across the province.

ISLAMABAD - Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti on Wednesday categorically dismissed the circulating rumours regarding the replacement of the Chief Minister of Balochistan, terming them baseless and unfounded.

The Jaffar Express, which has been targeted multiple times in the recent past, escaped a bomb attack in Balochistan’s Nasirabad district on Sunday, police and railway officials said. According to police officials, unidentified attackers had planted an explosive device on the railway track in the Shaheed Abdul Aziz Bullo area to target the Peshawar-bound train that was travelling from Quetta and later detonated it. However, the train passed the area safely, and no loss of life was reported, the officials said. Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police Ghulam Sarwar told Dawn that police and other security forces had reached the site soon after the blast, cordoned off the area and initiated an investigation. “A search operation has also been launched to trace the elements involved in the bomb attack,” he said. Separately, railway officials told Dawn a portion of the track was damaged due to the blast, as a result of which railway traffic between Quetta and the rest of the country was suspended. Meanwhile, the o...

Police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday foiled a migrant smuggling attempt in Balochistan’s Turbat district in a joint operation, while detaining 29 foreign nationals for attempting to cross the border illegally, officials said. Migrant smuggling, which has grown more frequent and dangerous in Pakistan in the last few years, assists a person to enter or stay in a country without having the legal permission to do so. The trend impacts both the country’s reputation and the lives of those caught in it. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kech Captain Zohaib Mohsin told Dawn that the operation was carried out in the outskirts of Turbat, where a Land Cruiser was intercepted with dozens of people on board. “The arrested persons include 12 men, 13 children and 4 women,” the SSP said. “Two drivers have also been arrested who were allegedly involved in taking these people to Iran through illegal routes.” SSP Mohsin said initial investigations have revealed that the Afghan nationals were planning ...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif sidestepped answering a question on whether Pakistan had conducted a test of a hypersonic ballistic missile, saying such matters should not be asked about publicly. “Now don’t ask all these questions. Ask such things in private,” he said while responding in an interview on Samaa TV show ‘Mere Sawal’ on Friday, when asked to confirm whether Pakistan had conducted the missile test or not. The question came in the wake of a “rare lenticular cloud formation” observed over Quetta in the early hours of Tuesday that left the public puzzled over the phenomenon and its origins. Citizens had reported sighting the phenomenon around morning prayers from many parts of Balochistan and speculation was rife about the likely cause. Many social media accounts hinted that the cloud formation was the result of a missile test or a new technology tested by the military. In a post on X later in the day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said the sight was a “lenticular cloud formation” which was o...

Security forces have killed eighteen terrorists belonging to the Indian proxy outfit Fitna al Hindustan in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted on October 28 and 29 in Balochistan, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

At least 13 people, including two police officials, were injured as two separate attacks were reported in Balochistan on Wednesday, according to local officials. A grenade attack on a police mobile was reported along the national highway in the province’s Dera Murad Jamali area, which injured 13 people, including 2 officers. According to police officials, unknown suspects attacked the vehicle while it was patrolling along the highway. Immediately after the attack, police and law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and started an investigation into the incident, while security in the area was tightened. Civil Hospital Dera Murad Jamali Medical Superintendent Dr Naseer Ahmed Imrani confirmed that 13 people, including two policemen, were injured in the attack and transported to the facility. “A woman and two children are also among the injured, who are being provided medical assistance,” Imrani said. “The police have started investigating the incident.” Meanwhile, Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police...

ISLAMABAD - After complaints by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi regarding bul-letproof vehicles provided by the federal government, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday that the vehicles in question would be sent to Balochistan instead.