July saw massive surge in violence and killings in Balochistan: Report

Quetta, Aug 8 (IANS) Pakistan’s decision to arm and finance former Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel, coupled with its continued militarised counterinsurgency campaign in Balochistan, risks fuelling further violence, a report has stated.

The Pakistani authorities’ lack of willingness to pursue a political solution has further contributed to the deteriorating security situation in the restive province. Islamabad has pursued a heavily militarised counterinsurgency strategy while dismissing concerns over enforced disappearances and continuing to oppose peaceful activism of Baloch civilians for political, economic, and constitutional rights, according to a report in leading online magazine ‘The Diplomat’.

Balochistan recorded an unprecedented escalation in separatist violence in July, with 176 terrorist attacks reported across the province, the report said, citing the South Asia Terrorism Portal’s open-source database. The attacks included suicide bombings, complex ambushes, coordinated high-profile assaults and drone strikes, leaving 438 people dead, among them 127 Pakistani security personnel.

“July was the most violent month in Balochistan this year, both in terms of attacks and fatalities. The statistics make Balochistan Pakistan’s most volatile province, surpassing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 143 violent incidents caused 244 casualties the same month. The data trendlines of terrorist attacks and killings so far in 2026 also reveal that Balochistan has overtaken Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the most volatile region in the country,” the report mentioned.

“As compared to 574 attacks and 1,196 casualties reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between January and July this year, Balochistan witnessed a staggering 765 violent incidents and 1,600 fatalities in the same period,” it added.

Beyond the surge in militant attacks, the report said, violence has also spread geographically into Balochistan’s Pashtun-majority areas, where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been steadily expanding its presence.

“The TTP unleashed its firepower on former personnel of the Afghan National Army (ANA), who have been reorganising and rearming in the province to relaunch the anti-Taliban campaign in Afghanistan. Ironically, ex-ANA factions are using the same residential compounds where once the Taliban’s Quetta shura lived, trained, and launched insurgent campaigns in Afghanistan,” The Diplomat stated.

“The Afghan Taliban have tasked the TTP to counter the presence of ex-ANA elements in Balochistan’s Pashtun areas. Recent clashes between the TTP and ex-ANA elements have resulted in casualties among Pashtuns in Balochistan, prompting Pashtun tribes in Balochistan to protest, demanding justice and security from the state,” it stated.

According to the report, the surge in violence and killings in Balochistan stems not only from clashes between Baloch separatists and Pakistani security forces but also from multifaceted militant activity. These trends must be viewed against the backdrop of an evolving regional security environment, where internal dynamics and external factors are jointly reshaping the province’s security landscape.

–IANS

scor/as