A look at recent deadly attacks in Pakistan as it battles rising militancy

Pakistan's Frontier Corps inspect the siege site after armed militants ambushed a train in the remote mountainous area, at Pehro Kunri in Balochistan province on March 15, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 21 May 2025
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A look at recent deadly attacks in Pakistan as it battles rising militancy

  • Government facing insurgencies in northwest and growing separatist insurgency in southwest
  • Pakistan is also currently at loggerheads with both its neighbors India and Afghanistan 

Following are some recent deadly attacks in Pakistan, where the government is facing insurgencies on two fronts — militant attacks in the northwest and a growing separatist insurgency in the south.

MAY 21, 2025 
At least three children were among five people killed when a suicide bomber targeted an army school bus in the restive Pakistani southwestern province of Balochistan, in an attack the military blamed on Indian proxies.
The Indian government did not respond to a request for comment on the accusation.

MARCH 11, 2025
A total of 31 people, including soldiers, staff, and civilians, were killed by militants who hijacked a train as it traveled through a remote mountain pass in Balochistan. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the biggest of several ethnic armed groups fighting the government, claimed responsibility.

MARCH 4, 2025
Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into a military base in the town of Bannu in the northwest, killing 18 people, including six children.
No group claimed responsibility for the violence.

NOVEMBER 1, 2024 
A blast targeting a police van in Mastung town in Balochistan killed seven people, including five school students, and injured 23 others.
No group claimed responsibility.

AUGUST 26, 2024 
At least 38 civilians and 14 soldiers were killed as separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways in Balochistan, and security forces launched retaliatory operations.
The BLA claimed responsibility for the attacks, the most widespread in the country in years.

DECEMBER 12, 2023 
At least 57 people, including seven children, died as suicide bombings ripped through two mosques in Mastung while believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).
No group claimed responsibility.

JULY 31, 2023 
A suicide bombing targeting a hard-line religious group’s political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Bajaur region killed 56 people. The Daesh militant group claimed responsibility for the blast, which took place in northwestern Pakistan.


ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives

Updated 30 December 2025
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ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives

  • Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in weather patterns
  • The projects in Sindh and Punjab will restore nature-based coastal defenses and enhance agricultural productivity

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed more than $300 million agreements to undertake two major climate resilience initiatives, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Tuesday.

The projects include the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP), valued at Rs50.5 billion ($180.5 million), and the Punjab Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture Mechanization Project (PCRLCAMP), totaling Rs34.7 billion ($124 million).

Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns. In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses, while another 1,037 people were killed in floods this year.

The South Asian country is ramping up climate resilience efforts, with support from the ADB and World Bank, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas.

“Both sides expressed their commitment to effectively utilize the financing for successful and timely completion of the two initiatives,” the PID said in a statement.

The Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) will promote integrated water resources and flood risk management, restore nature-based coastal defenses, and strengthen institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning, directly benefiting over 3.8 million people in Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts, according to ADB.

The Punjab project will enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience across 30 districts, improving small farmers’ access to climate-smart machinery, introducing circular agriculture practices to reduce residue burning, establishing testing and training facilities, and empowering 15,000 women through skills development and livelihood diversification.

Earlier this month, the ADB also approved $381 million in financing for Pakistan’s Punjab province to modernize agriculture and strengthen education and health services, including concessional loans and grants for farm mechanization, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and nursing sector reforms.