By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Authorities in southern Sindh province said on Monday that they had thwarted a major terrorist attack planned for the bustling port city, arresting three suspects linked to a banned Baloch separatist group and seizing more than two tons of explosives hidden in a rented site on the city’s outskirts.
The operation, described by officials as a significant blow to militants aiming to destabilise national security, unfolded after intelligence agencies received tips about preparations for strikes at unspecified targets in Karachi. “We captured one terrorist, while three or four of them managed to escape the scene,” Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, the deputy inspector general of the Sindh province’s Counter Terrorism Department, told reporters at a news conference. He was flanked by Zulfiqar Ali Larik, the department’s additional inspector general.
The raid targeted a hideout in Rais Goth, about 35 to 40 kilometers from the city center, where the suspects had amassed a cache of destructive materials. Acting on coordinated intelligence from agencies including the Special Branch, the Intelligence Bureau and counterparts in neighboring Balochistan province, a joint team from the Sindh Counter Terrorism Department and what Mahesar called the country’s “premier intelligence agency” stormed the location after days of surveillance focused on Karachi’s western districts.
From the site, forces recovered a Mazda truck loaded with explosives, over 30 plastic drums and five metal gas cylinders filled with the material, along with detonating cords and various detonators, totaling more than 2,000 kilograms. The explosives, a mix of commercial-grade and smuggled items brought through Balochistan’s mountainous terrain, had been “ready to go,” Mahesar said, adding that they were defused on site.
Based on disclosures from the first detainee, raids on six additional locations led to the capture of two more suspects, who were also found with explosive materials. The three men, identified as Niaz Qadir, known by the alias Gangu; Hamdan, alias Fareed; and Jalil Ahmed, alias Fareed, revealed during initial interrogations that they were part of a network tied to Bashir Zeb, a commander in the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and its Majeed Brigade wing. Pakistani authorities often refer to such Baloch separatist outfits as “Fitnah Al Hindustan,” or the scourge of Hindustan.
“All the planning regarding the attack was done from outside the country,” Mahesar said, without specifying a nation. He added that facilitators and handlers had been identified, with teams pursuing further arrests as interrogations continued. “It is a huge success of the sensitive agencies, CTD and all law enforcement agencies that they saved Karachi from a major destruction.”
The BLA, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Balochistan, Pakistan’s resource-rich but impoverished southwestern province, accuses the central government and military of exploiting the region’s mineral wealth while marginalising ethnic Baloch communities — charges that Islamabad rejects. Pakistan has long alleged that groups like the BLA receive support from India and safe havens in Afghanistan, assertions denied by both New Delhi and Kabul.
The foiled plot comes amid a broader surge in militant violence across Pakistan, which has intensified since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. A recent report by the Center for Research and Security Studies documented a 34 percent increase in overall violence in 2025, marking the most violent year in a decade and the fifth consecutive year of escalation. The northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bore the brunt, accounting for over 96 percent of fatalities and 93 percent of incidents. Sindh, by contrast, recorded 51 incidents last year, resulting in 56 deaths and 40 injuries — about 1.73 percent of the national total. Nationwide, security operations killed around 2,060 militants in 2025, comprising more than 60 percent of all fatalities and exceeding combined losses among civilians and security personnel.
Despite the uptick, the report noted declines in terrorist attacks toward year’s end: a 17 percent drop in December and 9 percent in November. The operation in Karachi follows Pakistan’s closure of key border crossings with Afghanistan, including Torkham and Chaman, in October after attacks on military posts attributed to Afghan Taliban-linked militants. Mahesar said more details from the investigation would be shared later, as authorities work to dismantle the network and prevent future threats in the city of over 20 million people, a vital economic hub.
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