Balochistan | Pakistan

QUETTA: Reko-Diq Mining Company (RDMC) has paid more than $17.5m in royalties to the Balochistan government, its officials said on Thursday. The details were shared during a media briefing on the Reko-Diq project’s progress. Communications Manager Samia Ali Shah said payments tallied as of June 2025 include $17.5m in royalties to the Balochistan government and nearly $3.8m to the federal government on account of employees and others parties’ income taxes collected by the company. Ms Shah explained that the Balochistan government holds a 25 per cent partnership in the project without making any direct investment. The overall venture is a 50-50 partnership between the government of Pakistan and RDMC. The briefing also highlighted the company’s efforts in local workforce development. Present at the event were trainees who had just returned to Pakistan after completing 18 months of training in Argentina, sponsored by the company. “The young talent going for training abroad comprises 14pc females,” Ms Shah said, a...

Heavy monsoon rainfall has wreaked havoc across Punjab and Balochistan, leaving at least 59 people dead in the past 24 hours and causing widespread flooding and destruction.

Three people were killed and seven others were injured as a passenger bus was fired upon in Balochistan’s Kalat, according to the provincial government spokesperson. A statement from Shahid Rind said: “Three passengers were martyred and seven were injured in the tragic incident” when a shooting occurred on a passenger coach coming from Karachi to Quetta in Kalat’s Nemargh area. He said the injured were being moved to the District Headquarters Hospital Kalat for treatment, adding that an emergency had been imposed at the facility. Meanwhile, an update from the EdhI Foundation rescue service put the number of injured at 10, saying they were taken to Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment. “Security agencies, district administration and rescue teams have immediately reached the scene. Security forces have surrounded the area and a search operation is underway. Security forces are pursuing the attackers,” Rind said. Speaking to Geo News, he said Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had taken notice of the incident and sough...

MULTAN - Federal Communications Minister and President of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Abdul Aleem Khan, strongly condemned the recent terrorist attack in Balochistan in which innocent civilians were brutally targeted and killed while traveling.

DG KHAN / ISLAMABAD/QUETTA - The bodies of nine people who were martyred by unidentified armed men in the Sur-Dakai area on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts late Thursday night were received in Dera Ghazi KHAN on Friday morning.

The bodies of nine bus passengers who were kidnapped and killed in Balochistan’s Sardhaka area last night were recovered and transported to their hometowns in Punjab on Friday morning, officials said. Last night, at least nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men in the Sur-Dakai area, situated on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts. Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind also confirmed the incident and said that Fitna-al-Hindu­stan — a term the government uses for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan — had carried out attacks at three different places — Kakat, Mastung and Sur-Dakai. The Balochistan Liberation Front, a banned outfit, later claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the group said it had killed the nine individuals after blocking the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri. Assistant Comm­issioner (AC) Naveed Alam told Dawn.com today that the bodies of all nine passengers were h...

At least nine passengers were abducted and brutally martyred by terrorists linked to the banned outfit Fitna-ul-Hindustan in Balochistan’s Zhob district on Thursday night, according to Dunya News.

The Balochistan government on Thursday said that it has received information about the kidnapping of some passengers near Sardhaka and a search operation is underway to recover them. A statement from Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said terrorists belonging to the Fitna-al-Hindustan had carried out attacks in Quetta, Kalat, Mastung and Sardhaka. “Information has been received about the kidnapping of some passengers near Sardhaka. A search operation has been launched in the area to safely recover the passengers,” he said. Rind added that the security forces responded “immediately and vigorously” at all three locations, saying they were fully alert to protect the lives, property and belongings of the people. The police and security forces have not provided details at the moment of the other incidents. In May this year, the government designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna-al-Hindu­stan — a new phrase aimed at framing India’s alleged role in terrorism as a deliberate desta...

At least 11 people, including women and children, have lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Balochistan since June 28, according to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Thursday.

• Heavy rainfall exposes Lahore’s drainage system; city struggles with flooding, power outages • KKH reopens for traffic but heatwave persists in GB; glacial melting, floods cause severe damage LAHORE / GILGIT: At least 11 people lost their lives and many others sustained injuries as heavy monsoon rains lashed Lahore, its surrounding districts and some parts of Balochistan on Wednesday. The downpours caused widespread flooding and disrupted daily life in several areas. In Lahore, the heavy rainfall submerged low-lying areas and major roads, exposing the city’s inadequate drainage infrastructure. According to data from the Water and Sanitation Agency’s (Wasa) Monsoon Control Room, Lahore received an average of 58.8mm of rain, with some areas like Nishtar Town recording the highest 84mm, followed by Lakshmi Chowk (78mm) and Paniwala Talab (74mm). The first spell of rain lashed the city from 2:45am to 5:40am, with a second, more intense downpour hitting between 10:45am and 12:11pm. The heavy showers exposed the ...

Three cops were injured in an attack on a highway police vehicle in Balochistan’s Nasirabad District on Monday, an official said. Pakistan is ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025. Terrorists in Balochistan, previously engaged in a low-level insurgency, have recently intensified their attacks. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan in 2024. “Three personnel were injured in a blast targeting a patrolling vehicle of the highway police in Nasirabad’s Rabbi area,” Highway Police’s Senior Superintendent of Police Khadim Husain said. He added that the incident took place when the highway police team was patrolling the area as per routine. Citing preliminary reports, Husain said the blast was conducted through a remote-controlled device. The injured were immediately taken to a hospital in the Dera Murad Jamali town, located 12km from Rabbi, the SSP added. “The police have initiated an investigation,” SSP Husain said. In June, Pakistan wi...

Leading experts, diplomats, and policymakers unanimously urged on Monday to embrace a shift toward human-centered, integrated development for Balochistan under Phase-II of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to establish the latter as gateway to sustainable growth and development.

Two of the three women who accidentally fell into a dam in the Killi Zazagi area of southwestern Balochistan have been rescued, while search efforts continue for the third, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

Two Indian-sponsored terrorists were killed and two others arrested during an intelligence-based operation by security forces in Balochistan, the military's media wing, ISPR, reported on Sunday.

Security forces on Sunday killed two terrorists and apprehended two others during an operation in Balochistan’s Duki district, a statement from the military’s media wing said. The statement, issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the area upon the suspected presence of terrorists.. During the operation, security forces “effectively engaged the Indian-sponsored terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, two Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell, while two terrorists were apprehended,” the ISPR said. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized from the dead terrorists, who, according to the military’s media wing, remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area. “[A] sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian sponsored terrorism from the cou...

A magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck Balochistan on Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the shallow quake, which USGS reported had occurred at around 3:30am with the epicentre almost 60 kilometres north-northeast of Barkhan city of Balochistan. Senior levies officer Tuqeer Shah told Dawn.com that the Earthquake hit vast areas of Rara Shaim, Kingri and others. According to initial reports, at least three people, including a couple, were injured in the Rara Shaim area of Barkhan after the roof of their house sustained damage. Over half a dozen houses have been damaged, while cracks have appeared in many others in Rara Shaim. Shah added that the injured have been admitted to the hospital, while teams have been sent to the impacted areas to see the scope of the damage. Pakistan straddles the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes. The region can be challenging to naviga...

ISLAMABAD - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved $194 million for two projects to enhance educational opportunities for children and boost water security in Balochistan.

Waqar Baloch, based in the bordering town of Jaheen in Balochistan’s Panjgur, was all set for his wedding next week. But for a groom, his anxiety was of a different kind— half of his family was in Iran, where Israel is waging a war. The ongoing standoff between Tehran and Tel Aviv has sent ripples across the Middle East, with both sides refusing to drop their guns. But while the global attention is fixated on the Mashriq, the conflict — which is feared to spiral into a third world war — has disrupted daily life in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and most underdeveloped province. The province, which shares a 909-kilometre border with Iran, has been reeling from food shortages, a surge in fuel prices, the risk of unemployment, and heightened security concerns ever since the Iran-Israel war broke out. Families like Waqar’s are bearing the brunt of these tensions. “One of my paternal uncles is a resident of Iran, and many of our family members live across the border,” he told Dawn.com. “They won’t be able to atte...

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday condemned the murder of Mir Attaur Rehman Mengal, the son of former Balochistan chief minister Naseer Mengal, in an armed clash when gunmen opened fire in district Khuzdar’s Wadh. Atta Mengal was the brother of Mir Shafiqur Rehman Mengal, a prominent tribal leader and head of the Jhalawan Awami Panel, a political party. Dawn.com has reached out to the police for a comment on the alleged murder. Bugti condemned the “cowardly terrorist attack” and expressed his heartfelt grief and sorrow over the killing of the younger Mengal. “He prayed for the bereaved family and expressed his best wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured grandson,” a statement from his office read. Bugti assured that the provincial government will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and vowed that the terrorists will be brought to justice. “The people and government of Balochistan stand in solidarity against terrorism,” he added. Atta Mengal was killed while his son M...

• Six terrorists killed in police operations • Bodies of four men, including two soldiers, found in Mardan PESHAWAR / QUETTA: Six security personnel were martyred and as many terrorists gunned down in attacks and operations across Khyber Pakht­unkhwa and Balochistan, officials confirmed on Saturday. Meanwhile, the bodies of four men, including two army personnel, were found in Mardan. In Swabi, two police personnel were martyred on Friday midnight when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire, according to Swabi District Police Officer Azhar Khan. The martyred policemen were on duty in the Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate police station and had stopped to drink water at a hotel when two assailants on motorcycles opened fire. Videos shared on social media showed the cops, Zahid Khan and Jamaluddin from Gadoon Amazai region, sitting on chairs when the attackers opened fire. Their funerals were held at Shahmansoor Police Lines. Mardan Regional Police Officer Najeebur Rehman, DPO Khan, SP Investigation Iftikhar Ali ...