A worker clear rubble with an excavator as a police officer and local residents gather at the site of overnight suicide bombing at a security post in Fatah Khel, in Bannu, a district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Sunday, May 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Seventeen terrorists were killed on Friday (November 29, 2024) in two separate operations when Pakistani security forces’ helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The intelligence-based operations were conducted in the Bannu and the North Waziristan districts, according to security sources.

In the Baka Khel area of the Bannu district, 12 terrorists affiliated with the Hafiz Gulbahadur group were eliminated as choppers struck their compound.

The second operation was carried out in the Hasso Khel area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan, where five militants were killed.

A large cache of weapons and ammunition was seized from the militants, sources said. Security forces also released images of the killed terrorists.

The operation is ongoing, with reinforcements arriving for the security forces.

The security forces launched a massive operation against terrorists in response to the fresh wave of attacks against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern districts.

Representative image.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

At least seven people, including security personnel, are feared dead and 10 others injured in a deadly attack on a security check post in the restive Balochistan province on Saturday (November 16, 2024).

Following the attack, details of which are awaited, there are widespread complaints from different parts of Balochistan about disrupted internet services.

Geo News channel reported seven people were killed in the attack and 10 others injured in Kalat district of Balochistan.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. However, neither the provincial government nor any senior law enforcement official have come out with any statement.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed that mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended in certain areas of Balochistan, citing public safety concerns amidst a recent surge in terrorist attacks.

The PTA statement explained that the decision followed directives from relevant authorities and was implemented to “ensure public safety given the security situation in these areas.” Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack offering tributes to the deceased.

Outlawed separatist groups have stepped up attacks in Balochistan in recent days. Last week a suicide bomber killed at least 27 people and injured scores at the Quetta Railway station in the province.

Pakistani security forces killed nine terrorists, including two suicide bombers. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistani security forces killed nine terrorists, including two suicide bombers and a “high-value” terrorist, during an operation in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Thursday, October 24, 2024.

The intelligence-based operation was conducted late on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) in the Bajaur district of the province, according to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Also Read: Pakistan witnessed 59 terror attacks in August

After a fierce gunbattle, the law enforcement agency personnel killed nine terrorists.

“Among those killed were two suicide bombers and a terrorist ring leader who was a high-value target,” the ISPR statement said, adding that the slain militants remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and civilians.

While the security forces recovered large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the terrorists, sanitisation operations were underway to eliminate any further militants in the area, it added.

Also Read: Karachi airport bombing: Pakistani separatist group claims attack that killed 2 Chinese

As per the third quarterly report issued by the Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the total fatalities from three quarters of this year surpassed the total fatalities recorded in 2023 with 1,534 deaths compared to last year’s 1,523.

A total of 722 people were killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were injured in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the third quarter.

Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have faced the major brunt of terror attacks, the report said.

Representational image.
| Photo Credit: AP

Gunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said on Friday (October 11, 2024).

It’s the latest attack in restive Balochistan province and comes days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital.

Police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district late Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire.

Most of the men were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan.

Nobody claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif interacts with engineers of the China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) working at the Dasu Hydropower project in Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 1 said his government would ensure foolproof security measures for the Chinese nationals working across the country, days after five Chinese workers were killed in a suicide attack in the country’s restive northwest.

A vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in the remote Besham area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on last Tuesday, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.

“I want to assure you that the government of Pakistan will not leave any stone unturned, will not spare any opportunity to make sure you get the best possible security for your families and yourself,” Mr. Sharif told a gathering of the Chinese engineers and workers at the site of Dasu Hydropower Project in Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province during a visit to express solidarity with them.

He declared exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the March 26 incident, so that it would be a lesson and that no one could commit such a dastardly act in future.

At least 12 persons, including the mastermind, have been arrested in connection with the blast.

No group had claimed responsibility for the terror attack. However, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department blamed the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for the assault.

Terming it a job of the enemies of Pakistan, Prime Minister Sharif said that it was a dastardly act on part of the perpetrators who found every opportunity to harm this friendship which was strengthening by each passing day and expanding and moving forward with speed.

“That is the reason enemies do not spare any opportunity to damage and create a wedge between the two iron brothers,” he added.

The prime minister said that the sole purpose of his visit was to offer sincere condolences and express feelings to the Chinese brothers and sisters in Dasu.

He said it was a cowardly act on part of the terrorists to kill innocent Chinese and a Pakistani for no other reason except to disturb and damage the exceptional friendship between Pakistan and China.

Mr. Sharif said that his government would not leave any stone unturned and would not spare any opportunity to ensure the best possible security measures for the Chinese families and nationals.

He said that after the incident, he had visited the Chinese embassy immediately to offer condolences on behalf of his government and the people of Pakistan to the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people.

He informed that a joint investigation team was also constituted on the same day and its report was due any time, adding that his government would not waste time to act upon the recommendations of the inquiry.

Besides, a high level security meeting was held on March 27 in which they discussed better coordination with the provincial governments over the additional security measures, he added.

The prime minister said that Pakistan-China friendship would march forward in unison and the enemies of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and this exceptional relationship would be defeated completely.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said that the prime minister visited the embassy and reassured security for the Chinese nationals. He also expressed gratitude to the government and people of Pakistan for expressing solidarity, adding that they were ready to work together to further build their strategic partnership.

The gathering also observed 30-second silence for those who lost lives in the tragic incident.

Federal Ministers Amir Muqam and Attaullah Tarar as well as members of the Chinese company and senior officials were also present on the occasion.

Security officials inspect the wreckage of a vehicle which was carrying Chinese nationals that plunged into a deep ravine off the mountainous Karakoram Highway after an attack near Besham city in the Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Five Chinese nationals working on a major dam construction site were killed along with their driver on March 26 when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle in northwest Pakistan, officials said.

Their vehicle plunged into a deep ravine off the mountainous Karakoram Highway after the bomber rammed his car into them and detonated his explosives, police said.

Beijing has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan in recent years, but Chinese-funded projects have sparked resentment and their citizens have frequently come under attack.

Images shared with AFP show smoke rising from the valley, near Besham city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Five Chinese and their local driver were killed in the attack,” Muhammad Ali Gandapur, a senior provincial police official, told AFP.

He said the vehicle was travelling between the Dasu hydroelectric dam site, under construction by the China Gezhouba Group Company, and the capital Islamabad.

Zahid Khan, a senior local police official, told AFP that “a suicide bomber crashed his vehicle into theirs”.

“The vehicle caught fire and plunged down the ravine,” he said.

In 2021, a bus carrying engineers to the same construction site was hit by a bomb, killing 13 people including nine Chinese workers.

The attack on March 26 comes days after security forces killed at least seven militants as they attempted to storm the offices of Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan, considered a cornerstone of Chinese investment.

Militants also killed one soldier as they attempted to storm a major naval air base in the country’s southwest, Pakistan’s military said on March 26.

“Strategic projects and sensitive sites vital for Pakistan’s economic progress and the well-being of its people are being targeted as a conscious effort to retard our progress and slow discord between Pakistan and its strategic allies and partners, most notably China,” the Army said.

The Chinese embassy in Islamabad described the bombing as a “terrorist act” in a statement reported by Chinese state media.

“The Chinese embassy and consulates in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist act, and express deep condolences for the victims of both countries and extend sincere sympathies to the families of the victims,” the embassy said.

‘Plotted to disrupt’

Beijing is Islamabad’s closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often struggling neighbour.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has seen tens of billions of dollars funnelled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects — part of Beijing’s transnational “Belt and Road” scheme.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and as well as Pakistan’s Interior and Foreign Ministers arrived at China’s embassy in Islamabad within hours of the bombing.

“Once again, the adversaries of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have plotted to disrupt it through such cowardly acts,” Mr. Sharif said in a statement.

“However, they will never succeed in their malevolent ambitions.”

Separatist groups say locals see little benefit from major Chinese projects, with most jobs going to outsiders.

The security of Chinese workers has long been of concern to both countries.

“The Chinese workers were already scared and feared that another attack was coming,” said Azeem Khalid, a Chinese investment expert at COMSATS University Islamabad.

“With every such incident, the speed of the project will be slower.”

In 2019, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Balochistan province overlooking the flagship Chinese-backed deep-water seaport in Gwadar that gives strategic access to the Arabian Sea — killing at least eight people.

In June 2020, Baloch insurgents targeted the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which is partly owned by Chinese companies, in the commercial capital of Karachi.

China ‘strongly condemns terrorist act’

China on March 26 said it strongly condemned the attack.

“The Chinese embassy and consulates in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist act, and express deep condolences for the victims of both countries and extend sincere sympathies to the families of the victims,” the embassy said in a statement.