Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti revealed on Monday that intelligence agencies successfully averted a major terrorist attack in Islamabad by apprehending a female suicide bomber in Balochistan. The suspect had been assigned to carry out the attack in the federal capital but was intercepted due to timely intelligence operations.
Speaking at a press conference in Quetta alongside the detained woman, CM Bugti emphasized that the terrorists have no ties to Baloch traditions. He noted the government’s commitment to girls’ education, contrasting it with terrorists who coerce young women into suicide missions. The chief minister assured that the arrested woman would be returned to her father with dignity, highlighting how extremist groups exploit women and girls to fulfill the demands of their international handlers.
In a significant development, CM Bugti disclosed that the woman had been threatened with harm to her father if she refused to carry out the attack. He expressed gratitude to the intelligence agencies for preventing what could have been a devastating incident.
Earlier, in September 2024, the provincial government had introduced Adeela Baloch, a suspected female suicide bomber arrested in Turbat. Adeela revealed that security forces had rescued her after a separatist faction attempted to manipulate her. She admitted to being brainwashed and warned about the systematic recruitment of youth by extremist networks.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has experienced a rise in cross-border terrorism, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, which share borders with Afghanistan. In January, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry disclosed that law enforcement agencies conducted 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) nationwide in 2025.
Breaking down these figures, KP accounted for 14,658 IBOs, Balochistan led with 58,778, and the remaining 1,739 occurred in other regions of Pakistan. Lt Gen Chaudhry also reported a total of 5,397 terrorist incidents last year, with KP experiencing the highest number at 3,811, followed by Balochistan with 1,557, and only 29 incidents across the rest of the country.
