Pakistani college lecturer arrested for planning foiled Balochistan assault, officers say

Security forces in southwestern Pakistan arrested a college lecturer accused of planning a foiled suicide assault that might have focused final week’s Independence Day celebrations in insurgency-hit Balochistan province, officers mentioned Monday (August 18, 2025).

The suspect, Usman Qazi, is claimed to have hyperlinks with the outlawed Majeed Brigade, the suicide squad of the Balochistan Liberation Army, in keeping with the province’s Chief Minister, Sarfraz Bugti.

During a press convention within the metropolis of Quetta, Mr. Bugti confirmed video footage with Qazi admitting to planning the thwarted assault in addition to aiding militants in recent times. It was unclear whether or not Qazi made these remarks beneath duress.

Mr. Bugti didn’t make clear when the arrest was made, and solely mentioned the person was nonetheless being questioned.

The arrest comes per week after the US State Department designated BLA and the Majeed Brigade a overseas terrorist organisation. The group is already banned at dwelling.

Mr. Bugti mentioned it was the primary time safety forces performing on intelligence had captured a senior member of the Majeed Brigade. He mentioned Qazi confessed to involvement in previous assaults, together with final yr’s railway station bombing in Quetta that killed 32 folks.

There was no rapid remark from the BLA in regards to the arrest.

Balochistan has lengthy seen violence blamed on separatist teams, together with the BLA. The province is wealthy in pure sources and residential to tasks tied to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the place Chinese nationals and Pakistani safety forces have additionally been focused by insurgents.

The separatists demand independence from Pakistan’s central authorities in Islamabad. Though the federal government mentioned it had quelled the insurgency, violence persists there.