Pakistani counterterrorism units raided multiple hideouts in Karachi, arresting three suspects and confiscating nearly 2 tons of explosives reportedly bound for attacks by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army. Officials said the materials were transported from Balochistan and that one vehicle loaded with explosives was ready for use. Police and intelligence agencies carried out the operation and said additional raids are ongoing to capture other suspects. Authorities allege foreign backing for the BLA, a claim New Delhi denies.
Karachi Raids Foil Planned Attacks — About 2 Tons Of Explosives Seized, Three Arrested
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
Pakistani counterterrorism units carried out coordinated raids across Karachi, detaining three suspects and confiscating roughly 2 tons of explosives and detonators officials say were intended for citywide attacks.
Zulfiqar Ali Larik, a senior counterterrorism official, and Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, a deputy inspector general of police, told reporters the bomb-making materials were moved from the southwestern province of Balochistan and that one vehicle loaded with explosives was found ready for use.
Operation and Investigations
Mahesar said the raids were conducted jointly by police and intelligence agencies. One suspect was arrested first; information obtained during his interrogation led to the detention of two additional suspects. Authorities said further raids were ongoing to apprehend other network members who fled the area.
Allegations and Broader Context
Officials blamed the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) for planning the attacks. Pakistani authorities frequently accuse neighboring Afghanistan and India of backing separatist and militant groups — an allegation New Delhi denies. The BLA has waged an insurgency in Balochistan for more than two decades, seeking greater autonomy or independence and demanding a larger share of the province’s natural resources.
Recent Trends and Past Attacks
Security officials say the BLA has increasingly used female operatives, apparently to evade detection. Last week police detained a teenage girl who, they said, had been radicalized and recruited online by the BLA to carry out a major suicide attack; investigators later treated her as a victim rather than a suspect and no charges were filed. In 2022, a female suicide bomber linked to the BLA killed three Chinese teachers near a Karachi university campus. In March last year, BLA insurgents attacked a train in Balochistan, killing 33 people — most of them soldiers — while security forces later said they killed 50 attackers and rescued remaining passengers.
The arrests and large explosives seizure underscore ongoing security challenges in Pakistan and the authorities’ focus on protecting civilians and personnel tied to large infrastructure projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
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