Key points
- Arrested “terrorist facilitator” a Grade-18 lecturer: Balochistan CM
- Detained suspect claims his wife is also a government employee
- The chief minister questioned “deprivation” being the purported cause of militancy in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Monday said security agencies had arrested an alleged “to-be suicide bomber” while foiling terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s Independence Day.
“On August 14, the suicide bombers were to target those innocent citizens who were celebrating Independence Day,” he said, addressing a press conference in Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital.
He commended the security agencies, the Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department, and the police for saving the province from “huge destruction”.
Government employee
The chief minister then aired a recorded statement of an arrested man, who said he had done a Master’s from Quaid-i-Azam University and a PhD from Peshawar University, and was working as a Grade-18 lecturer.
The man said his wife was also a government employee.
He recalled the Nov 2024 Quetta Railway Station bombing, in which “32 precious lives were lost and 50+ were injured”, and explained how the arrested lecturer was allegedly involved in facilitating the attack.
“He (the lecturer) had him sit on a motorcycle and dropped him near the railway station, and after that, handed him over to another handler about 1 kilometre away from the railway station,” Bugti said.
Cause of militancy
The chief minister questioned “deprivation” being the purported cause of militancy in Balochistan. He asked rhetorically, “How are these people deprived?
“The (lecturer’s) mother is still receiving a pension which means she was a government employee, his wife is also a government employee, he himself is a Grade 18 [officer], has studied and done a PhD on Pakistani scholarship, brother is an employee in Reko Diq [project], which means he was not deprived in any way,” Bugti added.
“Deadliest terrorist attacks”
Previously, it was reported that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had foiled one of the “deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s recent history” after arresting a university lecturer accused of working with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The Balochistan Liberation Army is a proscribed terrorist group based in the Balochistan province of the country. The terrorist group perpetrates attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The group frequently targets the Pakistan Armed Forces, civilians, and foreign nationals.
According to Pakistani authorities, the banned BLA is linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW and receives funding, planning, and instructions from Indian officials to carry out terror attacks in Pakistan.
According to security sources, a suicide bomber was arrested in Quetta on August 11. Information obtained during interrogation led to the arrest of Dr Usman Qazi, a lecturer at the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS).
During the investigation, it was revealed that Dr Usman was working with the BLA’s Majeed Brigade to plan multiple attacks on Pakistan’s Independence Day, August 14, security sources said.
Quetta railway station bombing
Security sources said that during interrogation, Dr Usman confessed to facilitating the November 9, 2024, Quetta railway station bombing, in which at least 25 people were killed. The BLA had claimed responsibility for the Quetta railway station attack.
The arrested accused also admitted to preparing dozens of bombers for planned attacks on 14 August that, according to investigators, could have caused mass casualties.
By August 12, intelligence officials had uncovered the full scale of the plot, sources said. Security agencies reported that the BLA had prepared 32 suicide bombers and four vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) to strike Quetta and other cities during Independence Day celebrations.
The plan, sources said, was intended to turn “a day of national pride into a day of mourning.”
Dr Usman also provided shelter and medical care to injured militants in the past, security sources said. In April and May 2024, he had harboured a wounded BLA terrorist, identified as Bohair, and arranged his treatment through an undisclosed doctor, sources revealed.
Young recruits
Security sources also accused him of personally handing suicide vests to young recruits while disguised as a teacher.
The intelligence agencies’ swift and coordinated action prevented the attacks and saved several lives, sources said. The suspects are now in custody and further investigations are under way, security sources added.
