In a major counter-terror breakthrough, security forces in Pakistan have captured four key terrorists of the India-backed “Fitna-e-Hindustan” network, also known as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in coordinated operations in Turbat and Mastung. The arrests come in the wake of the deadly Surab attack, which claimed the life of Assistant Commissioner Revenue Hidayatullah Baloch and left the local Levies station reduced to ashes.
According to security sources, the suspects played a direct role in the Surab carnage, and their capture marks a decisive blow to BLA’s operational capabilities in the region. The success follows days of intense intelligence-gathering, led by a high-level Intelligence Fusion Cell, incorporating geo-fencing, inputs from the CTD informant network, and human intelligence from locals.
Initial intel revealed that the Surab attackers had failed to retreat into the mountains due to heightened security cordons and instead went underground in urban areas like Turbat, Mastung, and surroundings. Further evidence linked local BYC leadership to providing them shelter.
To avoid compromising operational secrecy and media leakage, simultaneous raids were carried out in both Turbat and Mastung. The strategy worked: all four high-value terrorists were captured alive.
The Arrested Militants:
Shah Saleem bin Altaf and Abdul Rehman bin Abdul Majeed, both from Malikabad, Turbat, were arrested on June 4.
Hamal bin Imam, aged 28, who had been posing as a student, turned out to be a trained militant. He was apprehended the same night at 8:00 PM.
Babu Jan bin Muhammad Shafa, a resident of Behram Shahi, Mastung, was captured at 1:30 AM, hiding under the guise of a local shopkeeper.
Security officials revealed that these same individuals were recently the subject of online outcry, with false claims of enforced disappearances and human rights violations circulating on social media. However, those narratives have now been exposed as disinformation. Recovered from the suspects were hand grenades, automatic weapons, satellite phones, and scripted propaganda materials — all confirming their roles within the BLA’s armed operational cell.
This group was allegedly tasked with fuelling instability across Balochistan, and their capture is not only a strategic success for Pakistan, but also a major setback for India’s covert support to terrorism in the region.
Security sources stressed that the arrests underline Pakistan’s commitment to dismantling foreign-backed terror outfits, and send a strong signal to hostile actors working to ignite unrest in the province.
