By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: Security forces in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province arrested a young woman they described as a would-be suicide bomber, foiling what authorities called a major planned attack, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on Wednesday.
Addressing a news conference in the provincial capital alongside the woman, identified as Laiba, the chief minister said the arrest in Khuzdar was made possible by tips from local residents — what he termed “human intelligence” — and represented a growing willingness among Baloch people to cooperate with the state against militants. “Major destruction has been averted,” Bugti said.
He described the development as unfortunate evidence that terrorist groups operating in Balochistan were “exploiting” local women, including by radicalising and recruiting them for suicide missions. The chief minister praised residents for providing information that led to the operation, noting that such cooperation had been rare until recently. “The mindset of young Baloch people is changing,” he said, adding that the state had long respected women’s honor but that militants’ tactics had left security forces with little choice but to search vehicles even when women were inside.
Bugti stressed that the woman would be interrogated only in the presence of female police personnel and insisted that authorities would ensure she suffered “no physical harm, moral harm or harassment.” “This is the difference between terrorists and us — that we are giving respect and honour to the suicide bomber despite her plans to kill us,” he said.
The chief minister also lauded the province’s security forces, police and army, saying, “I am proud of the security forces, security agencies, police, and army.” He said more than 1,000 “hardcore terrorists” had been neutralised in Balochistan over the past 12 months. According to Bugti, militant groups are recruiting through the internet and front organizations, including one he identified as the Baloch Yakhjeti Council, targeting individuals who can be radicalised against the Pakistani state. He warned that such groups were pushing the people of Balochistan “into an endless war” that would achieve “nothing except for bloodshed.”
The arrested woman, Laiba, spoke briefly at the news conference. She said she had been “brainwashed” into agreeing to become a suicide bomber after meeting a commander from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last year. The commander instructed her to meet a woman connected to the Baloch Yakhjeti Council and to train additional women to become “fidayee” — a term used for suicide attackers. She was en route to meet another commander who was to brief her on a specific mission when she was detained in Khuzdar, she said.
Separately, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry told a private television channel that outlawed groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army and the TTP pursue similar targets and frequently collaborate on operations. He said both organizations were “brainwashing young women and children on social media” and deliberately using female operatives to exploit cultural norms that make it difficult for security forces to conduct inspections. “Young educated men were being brainwashed in the name of religion and ethnic politics,” Chaudhry added.
The minister credited the Balochistan provincial government with strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies through recruitment and training, saying the political leadership there “has the will and resolve to fight against them.” The arrest comes amid persistent militant activity in Balochistan, where separatist and Islamist groups have long targeted security forces, civilians and infrastructure. Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused such organizations of seeking to destabilize the province through high-profile attacks, including suicide bombings.
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