The calm around a remote police outpost near Mangi Dam in Balochistan's northern Ziarat district was shattered late on July 6 when heavily armed militants launched a coordinated assault. The post, which guarded a key water installation, came under intense gunfire as police personnel attempted to repel the attack. The militants eventually overran the outpost, and the fighting continued into July 7. According to Pakistani authorities, at least nine policemen, including two Station House Officers (SHOs), were killed in the initial assault before the violence escalated into a prolonged counter-operation involving the Pakistan Army and paramilitary forces. Over the following two days, the unrest spread across Balochistan, culminating in a deadly ambush on an army convoy and leaving Pakistan's security establishment confronting one of its deadliest episodes of militant violence this year.
Within four days, Balochistan witnessed three major attacks that, according to Pakistan's military, resulted in the deaths of 38 security personnel—27 policemen and 11 soldiers—along with four civilians. Baloch insurgent groups, however, claimed that the number of Pakistani security personnel killed was significantly higher.
Pakistan's military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said security forces killed 54 militants during subsequent operations conducted across Ziarat, Bela-Winder, Kharan and Dalbandin. Security operations, it added, were continuing.
The unusually forceful tone adopted by ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry during his media briefing reflected the pressure on Pakistan's military following the loss of 38 personnel in just four days. Vowing to "hunt" those responsible and warning that militants should expect no "rationality and proportionality" in the military's response, Chaudhry sought to project resolve amid one of the year's deadliest security crises in Balochistan.
The attacks stretched from the outskirts of Quetta to the mountainous region of Ziarat and the strategically important N-25 highway in Lasbela district, underscoring the persistent security challenges confronting the military establishment under Army Chief Asim Munir in Pakistan's largest yet most restive province. According to the ISPR, while the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out one of the attacks, the other two were attributed to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The attacks also came against the backdrop of a broader surge in militancy across Pakistan. Besides Balochistan, the military continues to face insurgent violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed weeks of protests. Anti-establishment demonstrations have become increasingly frequent, with the Jammu Kashmir Awami Action Committee (JAAC) alleging that authorities have responded with arrests, internet shutdowns and killings in an attempt to suppress dissent.
According to the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), 2025 was Pakistan's deadliest year in more than a decade, with conflict-related fatalities rising by 74 per cent compared to 2024.
Multi-pronged assault in northern Balochistan
The deadliest sequence of events began late on July 6 when TTP militants launched what Pakistan's military described as a "multi-directional attack" on a police checkpost protecting Pumping Station No. 3 of the Mangi Dam project in Ziarat district, part of the Sibi division near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
According to Dawn, the attackers engaged police in a prolonged gun battle before breaching the outpost. Nine policemen, including the SHOs of Mangi and Kawas police stations and a head constable of the Anti-Terrorist Force, were killed.
Pakistan's military claimed the police resisted fiercely and killed 15 militants during the initial exchange. However, before reinforcements from the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps could arrive, the attackers had overpowered the remaining personnel.
Only days earlier, the BLA had claimed responsibility for a suicide commando attack on a Pakistan Coast Guards camp in Jiwani, alleging that more than 30 security personnel had been killed.
The attack near Mangi Dam also triggered protests, with demonstrators blocking the Quetta-Ziarat highway before joining an ongoing sit-in in Quetta. Protesters demanded a meeting with Army Chief Asim Munir and said they would continue their agitation until their concerns were addressed.
Hostage crisis ends in executions
After reinforcements reached the area, the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps launched a large-scale operation to pursue the attackers. According to Pakistan's military, what began as a search operation soon developed into a hostage crisis after TTP militants abducted 18 surviving policemen while retreating into the surrounding hills.
ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the militants took the surviving officers hostage after overrunning the checkpost. Security forces reportedly surrounded the militants but refrained from using heavy aerial firepower because the hostages were still alive.
According to Chaudhry, as troops tightened the cordon around the militants, all 18 captive policemen were killed before they could be rescued.
He added that security forces killed another 11 militants during the operation, taking the total number of militants killed in the Ziarat area to 26.
The scale of the losses prompted the Balochistan government to suspend the Superintendent of Police for Ziarat, according to The Express Tribune.
Authorities also constituted a four-member inquiry committee to reconstruct the sequence of events, examine possible operational failures, assess security arrangements at Mangi Dam and recommend institutional reforms. The committee was additionally tasked with identifying any negligence or coordination failures among law enforcement agencies, Dawn reported.
Army convoy ambushed in southern Balochistan
Even as security operations continued in Ziarat, militants launched another attack hundreds of kilometres away.
On July 8, an army convoy travelling near the N-25 highway in the Bela-Winder area of Lasbela district came under attack. Pakistan's military said militants belonging to the BLA ambushed the convoy, killing 11 soldiers, including one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and 10 jawans.
The N-25, often referred to as the "Killer Highway" because of its high accident rate, is Balochistan's primary north-south transport corridor.
Pakistan's military said security forces retaliated immediately, killing 14 militants during the engagement.
The BLA, however, claimed responsibility for the attack and, according to The Balochistan Post, alleged that its fighters had killed 17 Pakistani soldiers while seizing weapons and military equipment from the convoy.
The report further claimed that the convoy belonged to the Pakistan Army's Sindh Regiment.
The three coordinated attacks demonstrated the militants' ability to strike multiple locations across Balochistan in quick succession, stretching the resources of Pakistan's security forces.
Pakistan's military maintained that a total of 54 militants had been killed during retaliatory operations across the province.
Pakistan blames India and Afghanistan
Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, ISPR chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused India and Afghanistan of supporting the attacks. He alleged that forces linked to India had orchestrated the operations and claimed that Afghan territory under Taliban control was being used as a base for militant activity. He further asserted that many militants killed in recent operations were Afghan nationals.
However, no evidence was presented during the briefing to substantiate these allegations.
While Pakistan has frequently accused India of backing Baloch insurgent groups, Balochistan has long experienced an armed separatist insurgency led by organisations such as the Baloch Liberation Army.
The province has also witnessed sustained civil protests over issues including enforced disappearances, political representation and control over natural resources. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised Pakistan's response, alleging that authorities have treated armed militants and peaceful activists similarly. The case of Baloch Yakjehti Committee leader Mahrang Baloch, who received a life sentence after months in detention following years of activism, has drawn particular attention from rights organisations.
India has consistently rejected Pakistan's allegations of supporting Baloch militant groups, while the Taliban administration in Afghanistan has also denied allowing Afghan territory to be used for attacks against neighbouring countries.
Although Pakistan's military says it has eliminated 54 militants and pledged to pursue those responsible, the attacks on Mangi Dam and the N-25 highway highlight the continuing security challenges facing the country in Balochistan. Beyond military operations, the recurring cycle of violence continues to raise broader questions about governance, longstanding grievances, enforced disappearances and the underlying factors contributing to unrest in the province.
