ISLAMABAD: A tragic mishap turned deadly for two suspected militants inBalochistan when the landmine they were attempting to plant undergroundexploded prematurely in Dera Bugti district on Sunday, killing bothindividuals instantly and highlighting the persistent dangers associatedwith insurgent operations in the province.
The explosion occurred in the remote Lanjo Safari area of Sui tehsil, aregion long considered a hotspot for separatist activities. According topolice officials who reached the site shortly after the blast, the deceasedappeared to have been in the process of burying an improvised explosivedevice intended to target local residents or security personnel. Securitysources familiar with the matter described the incident as a classic caseof accidental detonation during weapon emplacement, a recurring hazard forthose handling unstable explosives without adequate technical expertise.
Following the blast, law enforcement and security forces swiftly cordonedoff the area and shifted the bodies to Sui Hospital for postmortemexamination. As of late Sunday evening, the identities of the two deceasedindividuals remained unconfirmed, with investigators working to establishwhether they belonged to any known insurgent outfit operating in thedistrict. The swift response by authorities underscores the heightenedstate of alert maintained across Dera Bugti amid recurring securitychallenges.
In a separate but related development late Sunday evening, unidentifiedassailants launched a hand grenade attack near Aftab Chowk in the Sakranarea of Hub district, Lasbela division. Eyewitness accounts and policereports indicate that the attackers arrived on a motorcycle, lobbed thegrenade towards a public location, and immediately fled the scene.Fortunately, the explosion caused no casualties, though it triggeredwidespread panic among local residents and shopkeepers in the vicinity.
Police immediately sealed off the affected area and initiated a detailedsearch for evidence, including possible fragments of the grenade and anydiscarded items that could lead to the identification of the perpetrators.Authorities have registered a formal case and described the incident as anattempt to create fear and instability in an otherwise relatively calmcommercial hub of the district.
These back-to-back incidents arrive against the backdrop of escalatingterrorist violence across Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan. Thecountry ranked second globally in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index publishedby the Institute for Economics and Peace, recording a staggering 45 percent increase in terrorism-related deaths compared to the previous year.Balochistan remained the epicentre of this surge, accounting for adisproportionate share of fatalities linked to separatist insurgency andtargeted attacks on security forces and civilians.
The province has witnessed intensified militant operations since mid-2024,with groups employing a mix of improvised explosive devices, ambushes, andgrenade attacks to challenge state authority. Security analysts note thatpremature explosions during mine-laying operations, while infrequent,expose the limited training and technical capacity of some militant cadres,inadvertently aiding intelligence efforts by eliminating operatives andproviding physical evidence at blast sites.
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At the beginning of 2026, Balochistan Inspector General of Police vowed tobolster provincial counter-terrorism capabilities through comprehensiveplanning, acquisition of modern weapons systems, and specialised trainingprogrammes for frontline personnel. Officials emphasised that enhancedintelligence coordination, community engagement, and technological upgradeswould form the core of the renewed strategy aimed at reversing the upwardtrajectory of violence observed throughout 2025.
The twin episodes in Dera Bugti and Hub serve as grim reminders of thecomplex security landscape prevailing in Balochistan, where accidentalmilitant casualties coexist alongside deliberate attacks designed to sowfear among the population. Sustained peace in the province will depend onsimultaneous progress in intelligence-led operations and socio-economicmeasures addressing underlying grievances.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/188XXXX/balochistan-landmine-blast
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