In late January and early February 2026, in a series of coordinated attacks across multiple districts in Balochistan, Baloch insurgents engaged in armed assaults and suicide bombings targeting schools, hospitals, banks, markets, security installations, police stations, a high-security prison, and various civilian areas. These attacks occurred as part of an ongoing insurgency in the Balochistan region, where nationalist and separatist groups are seeking greater autonomy or independence from Pakistan and Iran.
Pakistani security forces responded with large-scale counter-operations across the province, stating that the operations resulted in the deaths of at least 216 militants and 22 security personnel. Around 36 civilians were also killed in the attacks carried out by the BLA militants. The attacks were widely condemned by China, France, Turkey, the U.S. Embassy, and the United Nations Security Council. The attacks were also described as among the deadliest incidents in Balochistan in recent years.
Background
1940s–2019
Balochistan has been the site of a protracted insurgency since the late 1940s, with Baloch groups accusing the Pakistani government of exploiting the province's natural resources while marginalising local populations. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), designated as a terrorist organisation by Pakistan, the United States, and the European Union (EU), has conducted numerous attacks on security forces and infrastructure projects—including those linked to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
2019 onward escalation
Prior to the attacks, the insurgency had escalated since late 2019.
Before the attacks, from 25 to 29 January 2026, Pakistani intelligence-based operations in Panjgur and Harnai had killed 41 militants and insurgents of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Pakistani Taliban (TTP) respectively. During the operation against BLA insurgents in Panjgur on 25 January, 3 local BLA commanders, going by the names; Farooq (alias "Soro"), Adeel, and Waseem, were killed and weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered by the Army from the militants, as well as cash which was looted from bank during a bank robbery in Panjgur from 15 December 2025.
According to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, the province of Balochistan saw at least 254 terrorist attacks in 2025, which was 26% higher than the previous year, resulting in more than 400 deaths.
According to the provincial Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti (via a post on X), at least 700 insurgents were killed by security forces during counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the province of Balochistan in the year 2025 alone.
The year 2025 was deadliest year for Pakistan, especially for militants and insurgents, with 2,115 militants and insurgents killed overall throughout the country, along with 664 security personnel and 580 civilians, according to a report released by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Attacks
The militant attacks of 30 January 2026, began around 03:00 PKT and spanned at least nine districts, including Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung, Nushki, Pasni, and Kharan. According to Pakistani security officials, the attacks instead began at 04:00 a.m. on Saturday with suicide blasts in Nushki and Pasni. Witnesses stated that the attacked started around 5 a.m. local time. According to provincial Health Minister, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, most of the attacks had begun almost simultaneously across Balochistan.
At least a dozen towns and cities in Balochistan reported attacks being carried out. During the attacks, BLA militants and insurgents stormed banks, schools, markets, and security installations across Balochistan. The attacks were described as one of the largest and most wide-scale attacks ever done by the BLA.
Militants used guns, grenades, and suicide vests to target police stations, paramilitary outposts, a high-security prison in Quetta, and civilian vehicles. American-made weapons were also reportedly used by militants. In Quetta, militants stormed multiple police facilities, leading to prolonged gun battles. According to eyewitnesses, militants and insurgents riding on motorcycles were armed with grenades and assault rifles during the attacks. According to local authorities, armed men had briefly blocked roads in some parts of Quetta, and an explosion was heard near a high-security area.
Suicide bombings were reported in Mastung, Gwadar, Kharan, and Nushki. In Gwadar and Kharan, civilians were among those killed during the clashes. In Mastung, Kalat, and Pasni, militants attempted to strike government buildings and security installations. In Mastung, Kalat and Pasni, government buildings and security installations were targeted by militants and insurgents.
Pakistani security forces engaged in a three-day battle to retake Nushki—a town of about 50,000 inhabitants—from BLA forces, with local police stating that Pakistani personnel employed drones and helicopters to recover the town. During the attacks, Baloch militants targeted civilians, a prison, police stations, and paramilitary bases throughout Balochistan. The BLA seized six administrative offices during the battle of Nushki. Insurgents targeted multiple buildings and installations belonging to both the provincial and federal governments in Nushki, including the police lines/station, a judicial complex, the deputy commissioner’s office, and a camp of the Federal Constabulary. According to police officials, the insurgents were at one point within 1 km (3,300 ft) of the provincial chief minister's office in Quetta before being repelled. Multiple buildings were also set ablaze during battle of Nushki. In the Nushki district, militants attempted to storm the provincial headquarters of the Frontier Corps, but the attack was repelled, according to the Balochistan Police. According to the Balochistan Constabulary, the desert town of Nushki was secured by local law enforcement after a three-day battle during which 7 police officers were killed. According to security officials, helicopters and drones were used against militants in the city of Nushki to help drive out BLA-affiliated militants and insurgents.
The BLA labelled the attacks "Operation Herof 2.0" (with the word Herof meaning "Black Storm" in Balochi), as a follow up to the August 2024 Balochistan attacks (which it labels "Operation Herof"), and described the operations as simultaneous strikes on military and administrative targets, with videos released by the group also showing female fighters participating in the attacks. By 1 February, Pakistani officials reported that security forces had thwarted most attempts, engaging in clearance operations that lasted into the following day and went on till 5 February.
According to officials, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) made announcements through mosques ahead of the attacks, asking people to join and support them, claiming to be waging a war to take over all government buildings and installations in the province.
According to Pakistani security forces, foreign handlers of the Baloch militants and insurgents, including their operatives, were present at the sites of the attacks and helped to coordinate them.
Affected areas
According to Pakistani security officials and the Pakistan Army, multiple attacks were attempted and carried out in Quetta, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kalat, Gwadar, Pasni, Tump, and Mastung, stating that clearance operations were continuing in areas affected by the attacks. According to Shahid Rind, most of the attacks by the BLA were foiled.
The Baloch Liberation Army later subsequently released the Nushki Deputy Commissioner, Muhammad Hussain Hazara and Assistant commissioner, Maria Shamaoon, who had been taken hostage earlier. According to the Nushki Assistant Commissioner, Maria Shamoon, "On January 31, at around 5:30 in the morning, some miscreants snuck into our homes and took over the property". She also added that the militants took over the government complex and had taken the deputy commissioner, Hussain Hazara, hostage as well. Additional troops were deployed to Nushki, after a three-day-long battle with militants to recapture the town, in order to reinforce it, according to security officials.
In Pasni, an attack was done on the Pakistan Coast Guards facility, during which a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the gate of a Maritime Security Agency camp next to the PGC facility and 4 militants (including a female attacker) stormed into the camp before being pinned down in a building near the gate, while another militant (their commander) stayed outside and provided cover fire. During the subsequent shootout and standoff between the MSA and PCG on one side and the pinned-down insurgents on the other, all 5 of the remaining militants were killed. 1 MSA soldier was killed, and another was injured over the course of the attack. In total, 7 BLA insurgents/militants were killed in and around the town of Pasni. According to the Balochistan police, militants also tried to abduct passengers in Pasni who were travelling on buses along highways.
Out of all cities and towns in Balochistan, the provincial capital of Quetta emerged as by far the most targeted and affected by them. Activities by armed gunmen, who were primarily insurgents/militants affiliated with the BLA, were reported in multiple parts of the city, targeting police stations and security checkpoints, including a Police Training Centre in Quetta, as well as several vulnerable locations in the red zone well targeted during the attacks. In Quetta's red zone, police personnel including a deputy superintendent were killed. On Quetta’s Saryab Road, armed gunmen opened fire on a moving police van. The policemen retaliated with gunfire, and paramilitary Frontier Corpsmen also joined the gunfight later on. Four of the attacking insurgents were killed during the exchange of gunshots, and the area was soon secured by security forces. According to the Provincial Health Minister Of Balochistan, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police vehicle in Quetta. According to witnesses in Quetta, three police stations set on fire by the attackers, who wreaked havoc throughout the city before security forces arrived on the scene to stop them and a military helicopter was seen firing shells at the insurgents and militants. A bank was set ablaze and several police vehicles were torched, which caused widespread panic among the local populace.
In Kharan, Shahid Malazai, a tribal and political leader, along with 6 of his bodyguards, were killed when gunmen stormed Malazai's residence. The 3 insurgents who were responsible for Malazai's killing were killed during another exchange of fire in Kharan later on.
A labourers’ colony in Gwadar was also attacked by insurgents, resulting in the deaths of five members of a labour family who were from Khuzdar. Militants attacked a camp in which migrant workers were residing, killing 11 people, according to Atta-ur-Rehman, a senior police officer in Gwadar. Those killed included 5 men, 3 women and 3 children. According to the Balochistan Constabulary, militants also tried to abduct passengers in Gwadar who were travelling along highways on buses. 2 female militants were also killed during the attacks in Gwader
In Mastung, gunfire and explosions injured several people, including a police officer, while an attack on a prison in Mastung was repelled. It was, however, after at least 30 prisoners had already escaped from it.
In Kalat, clashes reportedly took place near the District Collector headquarters and police stations. Also in Kalat, attacks by militants and insurgents on police stations and banks injured 3 policemen and forced local shops to shut due to fear and uncertainty over the situation.
In Nasirabad, security forces defused explosive material planted on a railway track.
In Khuzdar, residents claimed to have witnessed BLA militants capturing seven members of the security forces. Later in February, the group released footage claiming to have captured seven Pakistani soldiers with a footage.
Involvement of other militant groups
The Baloch Liberation Front claimed to have participated in the attacks alongside the Baloch Liberation Army.
According to Pakistani security forces, foreign handlers of the Baloch militants and insurgents, including their operatives, were in direct communication with them during the attacks, with some being present at the sites of the attacks and where they had helped to coordinate them.
Response
In response to the attacks, Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, urged a surge in the deployment of troops to Balochistan in order to combat the attacks and deteriorating security situation.