
A look at recent deadly attacks in Pakistan as it battles rising militancy
Following are some recent deadly attacks in Pakistan, where the government is facing insurgencies on two fronts — militant attacks in the northwest and a growing separatist insurgency in the south.
MAY 21, 2025
At least three children were among five people killed when a suicide bomber targeted an army school bus in the restive Pakistani southwestern province of Balochistan, in an attack the military blamed on Indian proxies.
The Indian government did not respond to a request for comment on the accusation.
MARCH 11, 2025
A total of 31 people, including soldiers, staff, and civilians, were killed by militants who hijacked a train as it traveled through a remote mountain pass in Balochistan. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the biggest of several ethnic armed groups fighting the government, claimed responsibility.
MARCH 4, 2025
Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into a military base in the town of Bannu in the northwest, killing 18 people, including six children.
No group claimed responsibility for the violence.
NOVEMBER 1, 2024
A blast targeting a police van in Mastung town in Balochistan killed seven people, including five school students, and injured 23 others.
No group claimed responsibility.
AUGUST 26, 2024
At least 38 civilians and 14 soldiers were killed as separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways in Balochistan, and security forces launched retaliatory operations.
The BLA claimed responsibility for the attacks, the most widespread in the country in years.
DECEMBER 12, 2023
At least 57 people, including seven children, died as suicide bombings ripped through two mosques in Mastung while believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).
No group claimed responsibility.
JULY 31, 2023
A suicide bombing targeting a hard-line religious group's political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Bajaur region killed 56 people. The Daesh militant group claimed responsibility for the blast, which took place in northwestern Pakistan.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Bangladesh's Yunus says will step down after polls
LONDON: Bangladesh interim leader Mohammed Yunus said Wednesday that there was 'no way' he wanted to continue in power after elections he has announced for April, the first since a mass uprising overthrew the government. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year rule. Speaking in London, Yunus, asked if he himself was seeking any political post, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said there was 'no way,' waving his hands in the air for emphasis. 'I think none of our Cabinet members would like to do that, not only me,' he said. Yunus was answering questions after speaking at London's foreign policy think tank Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He also said he wanted to unveil a 'big package' of proposals next month that he dubbed a 'July Charter' — one year on since the students launched the demonstrations that toppled Hasina. The aim of the package, he added, was to overhaul democratic institutions after Hasina's tenure. 'We want to say goodbye to the old Bangladesh and create a new Bangladesh,' Yunus said. The charter is being drafted by a government 'consensus commission,' talking to political parties to 'find that which are the recommendations they will accept,' he added. Yunus has long said elections will be held before June 2026, but says the more time the interim administration had to enact reforms, the better. But after political parties jostling for power repeatedly demanded he fix a timetable, he said earlier this month that elections would be held in April 2026. 'Our job is to make sure that the transition is managed well, and that people are happy when we hand over power to the elected government,' he said. 'So we want to make sure that the election is right, that is a very critical factor for us. If the election is wrong, this thing will never be solved again.' Yunus is also expected to meet in London with Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is widely seen as likely to sweep the elections. Rahman, 59, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has lived in London since 2008 after being sentenced in absentia under Hasina — convictions since quashed. He is widely expected to return to Dhaka to lead the party in polls.


Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump nominee for South Asia secretary backs Pakistan security cooperation ‘where beneficial for US'
ISLAMABAD: Paul Kapur, President Donald Trump's nominee to be assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, said this week he would pursue security cooperation with Pakistan 'where beneficial to US interests.' Kapur was speaking during a confirmation hearing before the US Senate on Tuesday. 'On Pakistan, if confirmed, I will pursue security cooperation where beneficial to US interests, while seeking opportunities for bilateral collaboration in trade and investment,' Kapur said in his testimony. 'South Asia recently avoided a costly conflict, with the [US] Vice President and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio intensely engaged on the issue. If confirmed, I will continue to promote longstanding US security interests with India and Pakistan through the pursuit of peace and stability, and the fight against terrorism.' Kapur is, as of 2025, a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School. He is a visiting faculty member at the Hoover Institution and has taught at Claremont McKenna College. He was also a visiting professor at Stanford University. In 2025, Kapur was nominated as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs by the second Trump administration, succeeding Donald Lu. Pakistani observers are carefully watching Kapur's appointment as he wrote in his book 'Jihad as Grand Strategy' that jihad was a major part of Pakistan's grand strategy, and not just a 'political instrument' it used. He has claimed that the utilization of jihad by Pakistan is an intentional government strategy.


Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
US CENTCOM chief calls Pakistan ‘phenomenal partner' in ongoing fight against militancy
KARACHI: The head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Kurilla, this week praised Pakistan as a 'phenomenal partner' in counterterrorism efforts, citing continued operations against militant groups and active intelligence-sharing between the two countries. Pakistan and the United States have a long, if at times turbulent, history of counterterrorism cooperation dating back to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Islamabad was a key partner during the US-led war in Afghanistan, and over the years has captured and handed over numerous Al-Qaeda operatives to US authorities. In a more recent high-profile case, Pakistani officials last year arrested and extradited a Daesh militant accused of planning the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, which killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghan civilians during the US military withdrawal. 'They're in an active counter-terrorism fight right now and they have been a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,' Kurilla said during a testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Tuesday. Kurilla pointed to recent Pakistani operations targeting Daesh (ISIS-Khorasan), particularly in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. 'Through a phenomenal partnership with Pakistan, they have gone after Daesh Khorasan (Daesh) killing dozens of them through a relationship we have with them providing intelligence. They have captured at least five Daesh Khorasan (Daesh) high value individuals,' he said. 'So, we are seeing Pakistan with limited intelligence that provided them go after them using their means to do that and we're seeing an effect on Daesh (Daesh).' Kurtis added that both Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban were conducting parallel operations against Daesh along the border. Kurilla also noted the close personal coordination between military leaders, recalling that Pakistan's army chief had informed him directly of a major capture. 'Field Marshal Asim Munir called me to tell me they had captured one of the Daesh-K individuals,' he said. While Pak-Us relations have often been strained by mutual mistrust — particularly over drone strikes, militant sanctuaries, and geopolitical alignment — security cooperation between the two militaries has persisted, especially in the intelligence domain. Pakistan and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to counterterrorism cooperation during a bilateral dialogue held in Washington in May. The talks focused on threats from groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh, both of which remain active in the region. Another round of counterterrorism talks is scheduled to take place later this month between Islamabad and Washington as part of broader efforts to rebuild ties and coordinate on shared security priorities. US officials have increasingly acknowledged Pakistan's role in containing regional terrorist threats, even as Islamabad faces internal challenges from a resurgent TTP and growing political and economic instability.