Three policemen were martyred and at least 16 others were injured on Tuesday morning as a blast targeted a vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary on Mastung district’s Dasht Road, officials said.
Militants in Balochistan, previously engaged in a low-level insurgency, have recently intensified their attacks. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan in 2024.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, in a statement, said that a vehicle carrying policemen returning from Kalat was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED).
“Three jawaan (personnel) of the Balochistan Constabulary were martyred in the blast,” Rind stated.
He added that 16 others were injured due to the explosion, out of whom two were in a serious condition.
The Balochistan Constabulary is part of the provincial police, according to the latter’s website. No group has claimed the attack so far.
However, Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Younas Magsi put the number of those injured at 18.
All wounded cops have been shifted to a hospital while those seriously injured were being taken to Quetta, about 50 kilometres away from Mastung, according to Rind.
He added that an investigation report on the incident has been sought.
The Balochistan Constabulary officials were deployed at a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party—Mengal (BNP-M), the spokesperson said.
The BNP-M’s sit-in at Mastung against the arrests of Baloch activists entered its 19th day today. Just on the second day of their protest, BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and others had remained unhurt after a suicide blast near their rally.
According to DSP Magsi, the policemen were stationed as additional deployment with Levies in Mastung’s Kund Mas area. He added that more than 40 cops were returning from duty today when the police vehicle carrying them was targeted
“On a daily basis, our policemen used to return to Mastung Police Lines after performing their duties,” Magsi said.
Local administration official Raja Muhammad Akram also told AFP that the bus was carrying around 40 police officers when it was hit by the blast. He added that 3 policemen were martyred while 16 others were wounded in the “roadside IED blast”.
An emergency was imposed at the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and Civil Hospital in Quetta following the incident.
The blast comes just a day after a Frontier Corps soldier embraced martyrdom while two terrorists were killed as an FC post in Noshki’s Galangoor area came under attack.
Security forces also foiled an attack on a Levies post in the same district, injuring a terrorist.
Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.
War against terrorists will continue, vows PM
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack, expressing their grief over the martyrdom of the Balochistan Constabulary cops, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
“We will thwart the nefarious designs of the terrorists, who are enemies of humanity. Our war against terrorists will continue until the scourge of terrorism is completely eradicated from the country,” PM Shehbaz vowed.
The premier directed that immediate medical assistance be provided to those injured. He prayed for peace for the martyred souls and strength for the bereaved families to bear the loss.
President Zardari also prayed for the early recovery of the injured and reiterated the nation’s resolve for continuous efforts to wipe out terrorism from the country.
Denouncing the attack, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said martyrs were the nation’s pride and “would always live in our hearts”.
Naqvi, in a statement carried by state broadcaster PTV News, expressed his sympathies to the bereaved families and assured them that the government stood with them.
“Terrorists neither have any religion nor any region,” the minister said, adding that terrorists were enemies of humanity. He reaffirmed the state’s commitment to continuing action against such elements.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, in a statement, strongly condemned the blast and directed Health Minister Bakht Kakar to ensure that the injured were provided with the best medical treatment.
“No negligence will be tolerated in the treatment of the injured,” CM Bugti said.
Affirming that the provincial government stood with the martyrs, the chief minister asserted: “The elements involved in the incident do not deserve any concession.”
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, in a statement, said his heart was grieved on the martyrdom of policemen, terming it a huge loss for the nation.
“Cowardly acts of the terrorists cannot lower the nation’s morale. The martyrs’ sacrifice will go in vain,” he said. Conveying his condolences to the bereaved families, the chief minister said the country’s people stood with them.
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