ISLAMABAD: Farah Azeem Shah, a spokesperson for the provincial government in Balochistan, on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of a suspected woman suicide bomber from Turbat, a city in the southwestern province, saying the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army was now actively recruiting female attackers.
Shah’s statement comes days after the arrest of two women in Balochistan, one of whom security officials described as a would-be suicide bomber who was planning to target Chinese citizens.
The arrests came two weeks after a woman suicide bomber blew herself up on a university campus in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three Chinese teachers. The woman belonged to the militant separatist group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has waged a violent secessionist insurgency in Balochistan, and targeted Chinese interests in the region.
“The arrested woman has made revelations regarding the BLA activities and the wife of one Aslam alias Uccho was training women to become terrorists,” Shah told reporters. “Aslam alias Uccho has already been killed and now his wife Yasmeen is training women to become terrorists.”
Shah said a suicide vest, a Kalashnikov, nine kilograms (kgs) of explosive material and six grenades were recovered from the female suspect who was arrested in a raid carried out on May 16. The suspect had confessed during interrogation that she was being financed from “abroad,” Shah added.
She said the names of another three women suspects had surfaced during the investigation.
“Those who care for the cause of Balochistan should return home to truly serve the people here,” Shah said. “Real Baloch cannot use their women for terror attacks.”
Demonstrators this week blocked a highway in Hoshab in Balochistan to protest the arrests of the two local women. The highway links Quetta with Gwadar port and was built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative.
China, a close Pakistan ally, plans to invest over $65 billion in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - a part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative to seek road and sea trade routes to connect with the rest of the world.
Beijing is also developing the Gwadar deep-water port and other projects in Balochistan.
Rights activists and locals have long accused security forces of extrajudicial abductions and killings in Balochistan. Security officials deny the charges.