ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army major was among three soldiers killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in Balochistan’s Mastung district, the military said late Wednesday night, adding that security forces later killed four militants in a retaliatory operation.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is strategically important due to its mineral wealth and its role as a transit hub for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
However, the province has long been gripped by a separatist insurgency, with groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) ramping up attacks in recent years. Islamabad calls these outfits proxies of Indian intelligence, branding them “Fitna-e-Hindustan,” India’s mischief, though the charge is denied by New Delhi.
“On night 5/6 August 2025, terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan, targeted a Security Forces’ vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Mastung District,” the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
This handout photo, released on August 6, 2025 shows three Pakistan army soldiers killed in Balochistan blast. (Handout/ISPR)
“Resultantly, three brave sons of soil; Maj Muhammad Rizwan Tahir (31, Narowal), Naik Ibni Amin (37, Swabi), and Lance Naik Muhammad Younas (33, Karak), paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom].”
The army said Major Tahir was a decorated officer who had led numerous counterterrorism missions from the front. A subsequent “sanitization operation” in the area led to the killing of four “Indian-sponsored terrorists,” the statement added.
The military said its operation in the area was still continuing, vowing to eliminate all threats.
“Such sacrifices further strengthen our resolve to wipe out the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the ISPR added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement, paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, and lauded the military’s swift response.
“Security forces are standing like a wall in defense of the nation,” he said, adding the country remains committed to eradicating militancy and extremism in all its forms.
Balochistan has seen a string of high-profile militant attacks this year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train, and in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children after targeting their school bus.
Security forces, civilians and non-local workers are frequently targeted in coordinated attacks across the province.
