Defense Minister says all targets neutralized as ISPR reports heavy loss of terrorists
Khawaja Asif addresses the media about yesterday’s Balochistan attack. Photo: Youtube (PTV)
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday that Pakistan’s findings show “all links point towards India” in the recent attacks across Balochistan, which were claimed by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
On Saturday, terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks in several places in the province. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces killed 92 terrorists while 18 civilians were martyred. The military said that during clearance operations and intense fighting, “15 brave sons of the soil, after fighting gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom.”
The BLA claimed responsibility for the attacks in a post on social media, describing them as the second phase of “Operation Heroof”. The government has designated the BLA and other Baloch groups as “Fitna al Hindustan”, claiming they are acting as proxies for India to destabilize Pakistan through hybrid warfare. Officials say the BLA’s suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade, has developed links with other anti-Pakistan terrorists operating from Afghanistan.
Security sources also claimed that Indian media and India-linked social media accounts reinforced support for Fitna al Hindustan during the attacks, which they described as part of a coordinated hostile information campaign.
Speaking to reporters in his hometown of Sialkot, Asif said the BLA “is an internationally recognized terrorist organization and banned internationally,” adding that it seeks to maintain its visibility “to get foreign funding from India.” He said the group had carried out attacks on civilians, including kidnappings of civilians and government employees.
Read: 92 terrorists killed, 15 security personnel martyred as attack foiled in Balochistan: ISPR
He claimed that the outfit had tried to mask its activities by adopting a human rights stance. “They have also worn a veil in the form of human rights activism, a kind of costume in the form of BYC and the missing persons narrative,” he said.
Recalling his previous tenure as defense minister, Asif said he had stated eight years ago that many people described as missing persons were actually members of terrorist organizations such as the BLA. “They are agents of these terrorist organizations who attack our offices and homes,” he said. According to Asif, when such persons are killed, they are identified as terrorists while creating a “false narrative” around missing persons.
He claimed that some of them were alive and living in Dubai or Muscat while their relatives received allowances, adding that “a human rights narrative has been created out of nothing to get the world’s attention.”
Asif further claimed that terror groups were now using women and children. “Now they are also using children and women. In two attacks yesterday, women were used,” he said, claiming they were being indoctrinated. He added that a failed female suicide bomber who was captured had confessed and said the groups targeted unemployed, poor and working-class individuals.
Commenting on the security response, Asif said that all targets had been neutralized. He stated that 11 security officials were martyred while more than 100 terrorists were killed, adding that the number could rise.
Outlining what he described as the state’s broader goals, Asif said Pakistan aimed to ensure peace across all provinces and defeat foreign intervention, including what he called involvement through Afghanistan in the form of the BLA and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “We have been fighting on many fronts, but we will defeat all forms of terrorism in the country and no concessions will be made,” he said, calling for national solidarity.
He said several locations were targeted a day earlier, including Quetta’s Sariab Road, Frontier Corps headquarters in Noshki and areas in Dalbandin, with attacks reported at 12 locations.
Asif said Balochistan’s vast geography and sparse population had given terrorists space to operate, but claimed that this advantage would be removed in the coming days. He said the operation, which he referred to as “Herof 2.0”, ended due to poor planning, forcing the attackers to retreat and leave corpses behind. He also claimed that traffickers based in Afghanistan were using children to further their agenda.
On international issues, Asif said that additional Epstein files had been released and claimed that Indian media was defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “A different face of Modi has come out,” he said, adding that India’s Congress party had made allegations about Modi’s behavior linked to Israel. He further claimed that Modi’s role had emerged after the release of the Epstein files, saying, “No one can go as low as what Israel and India have been up to.”
