QUETTA: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in southwestern Balochistan killed five suspected militants in an intelligence-based operation in the Duki district of the province on Saturday, confirmed one of its officials, as the region continues to witness a spike in separatist violence.
The raid was conducted by CTD Balochistan with support from other law enforcement agencies in the Dhabar area of Duki. According to the CTD official, the slain militants were affiliated with the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group that has frequently targeted security forces and state infrastructure in the province.
“The latest action against militants was carried out on an intelligence basis, and the bodies of the militants were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Duki,” the CTD official said on condition of anonymity while confirming the number of the dead militants.
The BLA was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019 and has long led a separatist insurgency in the resource-rich region.
Militants affiliated with the group have also attacked Chinese nationals and projects linked to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Following the raid, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti praised the CTD action, pointing out that the state would continue to confront militancy with full force.
“Every conspiracy to destabilize Balochistan will be foiled,” he said in a statement issued by his office, adding that any facilitators of such armed separatist groups would also be brought to justice.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind described the operation as part of the ongoing counter-insurgency efforts in the province.
Balochistan has seen a spike in separatist violence in recent years. Last month, BLA militants hijacked a passenger train in the Bolan district, holding hundreds of passengers hostage for about 36 hours.
Duki, the area where the CTD operation took place, has also been prone to violence. In October last year, at least 21 miners were killed in an attack in the area, where gunmen used rocket launchers and grenades to storm coal mine facilities. Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir vowed this week to defeat separatist groups in Balochistan, saying such elements would never succeed in their efforts to disintegrate the country.
Separatist militants accuse the government and military of exploiting Balochistan’s natural resources, but the authorities maintain the Pakistani state has been investing in infrastructure and development to bring stability and growth to the province.
Five suspected separatists killed in counterterrorism operation in southwest Pakistan
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Five suspected separatists killed in counterterrorism operation in southwest Pakistan
- A CTD official says the intelligence-based raid targeted BLA militants in Balochistan’s Duki district
- Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti praises the action, vows to foil conspiracies to destabilize the province
Government says Pakistan preparing Cyber Security Act as digital expansion raises risks
- The proposed legislation will create Cyber Security Authority to oversee the country's cyber defenses
- IT minister warns misuse of genetic and digital data could enable targeted cyber and biological threats
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is preparing a Cyber Security Act and a dedicated regulatory authority to strengthen defenses against rising digital threats as the country rapidly digitizes government services and economic systems, IT Minister Shaza Fatima said while addressing a ceremony in the federal capital on Wednesday.
The planned legislation is part of Islamabad’s broader “Digital Nation Pakistan” initiative, which aims to expand e-governance, a cashless economy and online public services while safeguarding national cyber infrastructure.
“The more we move toward digitization, with the kind of opportunities that are opening up for us, it is also bringing an equal, or even greater, set of challenges,” the minister said. “This does not mean that we stop digitization. It means that we must make our cybersecurity systems robust.”
She said Pakistan had already activated its National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and provincial CERTs to detect and respond to cyber incidents, while a multi-agency digital monitoring framework known as the National Threat Intelligence System (NTIS) operates around the clock.
“We have a Cyber Security Act coming up, under which a Cyber Security Authority will be established.”
The minister said cybersecurity was not a “generic” concept and required multiple technical specializations as well as comprehensive monitoring and regulation. She warned that the rapid expansion of data-driven technologies was creating new risks even as it opened opportunities in areas such as health and biotechnology.
Referring to advances in genomics and precision medicine, she said the same technologies that help treat diseases could also pose security risks if sensitive biological data were misused. She warned that access to large-scale genetic data could potentially allow hostile actors to develop targeted viruses or other biological threats against populations.
The minister also highlighted Pakistan’s cyber defense capabilities, saying government and military systems remained secure during last year's war with India despite sustained cyber warfare attempts.
She said multiple institutions, including the IT ministry, the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), national cybersecurity teams and the armed forces’ cyber command structures, worked together to defend critical systems.
“Despite that massive war ... we did not face a single communication breakdown and we did not allow any penetration into our government systems,” she said, adding that the experience demonstrated the need to further strengthen cybersecurity coordination across institutions.
