Blast kills three, injures 11 in Pakistan's restive southwest
The blast took place inside a market next to a security forces camp in Gulistan town of Killa Abdullah district, located close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The explosives were planted on a vehicle and were detonated at around 8:30pm, according to Killa Abdullah Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Riaz Dawar.
'Majority of the shops inside the market were closed when the blast hit the market,' Dawar told Arab News.
'A wall of the security forces' camp was also partially damaged due to the intensity of the blast.'
The bodies and injured were shifted to hospital. Two of the wounded persons were brought to Trauma Center in Quetta who were in stable condition and undergoing treatment, according to Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Gulistan town that is situated close to Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
Pakistan is currently battling twin insurgencies: one led my religiously motivated groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), mainly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the other by ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups in Balochistan.
The TTP and Daesh have also maintained some presence in Balochistan.
The latest attack comes two days after the TTP said it had targeted a security check post in Balochistan's Khuzdar that killed four members of the Levies paramilitary force.
In Jan. 2025, Pakistan's military said security forces had thwarted an attack on a paramilitary force' camp in Gulistan, killing two suicide bombers among five attackers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Over 50 killed in Afghanistan bus crash full of migrants returning from Iran
More than 50 people were killed in western Afghanistan late Tuesday when a passenger bus carrying migrants recently returned from Iran collided with a truck and a motorcycle, local police and a provincial official said. Police in Herat province said the accident was caused due to the bus's 'excessive speed and negligence' on a road outside Herat city in Guzara district. The bus was carrying Afghans recently returned from Iran and en route to the capital Kabul, provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told AFP. 'All the passengers were migrants who had boarded the vehicle in Islam Qala,' said Saeedi, referring to a border crossing point. A massive wave of Afghans have returned from Iran in recent months after Tehran initiated a pressure campaign to force millions of migrants to leave. At least 1.5 million people have returned to Afghanistan since the start of this year from Iran and Pakistan, who have long hosted millions of Afghans fleeing decades of war and humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations' migration agency. Police in Guzara district said a motorcycle was also involved in the accident on Tuesday night. The bus first collided with the motorcycle then hit the truck, which was carrying fuel, police said, adding that the collision sparked a fire. Three bus passengers survived, according to police. Two people travelling in the truck and another two on the motorcycle were among the dead. An AFP journalist at the site saw the burnt shell of the bus on the road hours after the accident, along with the broken remains of the two other vehicles. Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving on highways, and a lack of regulation. In December last year, two bus accidents involving a fuel tanker and a truck on a highway through central Afghanistan killed at least 52.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
Global monitor reports ‘major disruption' as Internet connectivity plunges to 20% in Pakistan
KARACHI: Pakistan experienced a dramatic collapse in Internet access on Tuesday, with connectivity falling to just 20% of normal levels, according to NetBlocks, a global observatory for Internet governance. This follows a pattern of frequent Internet throttling and service outages in Pakistan, which human rights observers and digital-rights activists have long decried as tools for censorship and political control. Authorities deny this. 'Metrics show a major disruption to Internet connectivity across #Pakistan with high impact to backbone operator PTCL; overall national connectivity is down to 20 percent of ordinary levels.' NetBlocks said in a post on X. At the time of the filing of this report, state telecom authorities, including PTCL and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, had not responded publicly to the latest outage, even as millions of users remain offline. There are approximately 116 million Internet users in Pakistan, according to DataReportal's Digital 2025 report. This figure represents about 45.7 percent of the total population. Internet shutdowns significantly impact Pakistan's economy, causing substantial financial losses and hindering economic growth. In 2024, Pakistan experienced the highest economic losses globally due to Internet disruptions, totaling $1.62 billion. In a separate statement, the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP) condemned the recurring breakdowns, calling them a 'national failure.' Its chairman, Shahzad Arshad, said the situation reflected years of neglect and overdependence on a few backbone providers. 'Internet outages are no longer rare accidents in Pakistan — they've become a recurring reality. For two-thirds of the country to go dark in 2025, on the very date we saw the same collapse in 2022, should ring alarm bells at every level of government,' Arshad said. 'We cannot build a digital economy on a foundation this fragile.' Arshad stressed that a reliable Internet is now as essential as electricity. 'Freelancers, students, hospitals, banks — all depend on uninterrupted connectivity. Every hour offline costs Pakistan millions and damages our reputation internationally.' Internet disruptions, whether total shutdowns or selective throttling, have become increasingly common in Pakistan, especially during times of political unrest or protests. The latest disruption comes months after Pakistan confirmed the installation of a national Internet firewall, a centralized filtering system designed to monitor, restrict and control online content. Officials have framed the firewall as a tool for cybersecurity and 'harmful content' moderation, but digital rights groups warn it enables large-scale censorship and surveillance of political speech. Pakistan has also blocked access to major platforms in the recent past. Social media site X (formerly Twitter) remained banned from February 2024, days after a general election, until May 2025, after opposition parties accused authorities of rigging the polls and used the platform to amplify their allegations. The ban was lifted in May this year.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Azerbaijan ‘eager' to learn from Pakistan's multi-domain air warfare — Pakistani military
ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan has expressed a keen interest in learning the Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) multi-domain air warfare to strengthen its defense capabilities, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday. The statement came after a high-level Azerbaijan delegation, led by Deputy Minister and Director-General of Defense Agil Gurbanov, called on the PAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, at the Air Headquarters in Islamabad. The visit follows a four-day Pakistan-India military standoff in May, during which officials said the PAF successfully conducted multi-domain operations to down six Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale jets. While India has acknowledged losses in the air, it has not specified the number of aircraft lost. During Tuesday's meeting in Islamabad, both sides engaged in extensive discussions and underscored a shared commitment to fostering defense collaboration in training, modernization and technical expertise, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military's media wing. Deputy Minister Gurbanov 'conveyed Azerbaijan's strong desire for collaboration across Multi-Domain Operations, noting that Pakistan Air Force's rich operational experience provides a valuable model for Azerbaijan,' the ISPR said in a statement after the meeting. 'He added that his country is especially eager to learn PAF's complete methodology of Multi Domain warfare to strengthen its own capabilities.' The hour-long India-Pakistan fight, which took place in darkness, involved some 110 aircraft, experts estimate, making it the world's largest air battle in decades. Pakistan's Chines-made J-10s shot down at least one Rafale, Reuters reported in May, citing US officials. Its downing surprised many in the military community and raised questions about the effectiveness of Western military hardware against untested Chinese alternatives. Deputy Minister Gurbanov termed the PAF's seamless integration of multi-domain operations a 'hallmark of modern air warfare' and conveyed Azerbaijan's 'keen interest' in learning from PAF's battle-proven experience. Underscoring the importance of joint training initiatives through bilateral exercises between the two air forces, the visiting dignitary emphasized that such cooperation would enhance shared learning, interoperability and professional excellence, according to the ISPR. During the meeting, Air Chief Marshal Sidhu shared insight into the PAF's various ongoing modernization projects, operational construct, force goals and plans for the force structure, with a focus on future warfare. He reiterated the PAF's unwavering support to provide capacity-building assistance to the Azerbaijan Air Force in upgradation of its human resource, maintenance parameters and operational training. 'The dignitary reiterated Azerbaijan's intent to revamp its entire training system, beginning from the academy level, and acknowledged Pakistan Air Force as a trusted partner in guiding this transformation,' the ISPR said. 'He expressed confidence that cooperation with PAF would significantly contribute to the modernization and professional growth of Azerbaijan Air Force.' Pakistan and Azerbaijan maintain close brotherly, trade and defense ties. In July 2024, Azerbaijan announced a $2 billion investment in Pakistan during a visit by President Ilham Aliyev to Islamabad. In September last year, Pakistan signed a contract to supply JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan, marking the deepening of defense cooperation. 'The visit of the Azerbaijani defense delegation to Air Headquarters, Islamabad reflects the mutual commitment of Pakistan and Azerbaijan to further deepen their strategic partnership, while reinforcing the shared aspirations for regional peace, security and stability,' the ISPR added.
