QUETTA (Dunya News) – Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has revealed that security forces foiled a major terrorist plan aimed at targeting children during Independence Day celebrations.
Addressing a press conference along with security officials in Quetta, he stated that a university lecturer had also been arrested for facilitating the plot.
The chief minister said the lecturer had earlier dropped a suicide bomber at the Quetta railway station where an attack claimed 32 lives. He said the latest plan sought to cause mass casualties on August 14, but timely action by security forces prevented the tragedy.
Bugti stressed that Pakistan faces a systematic conspiracy aimed at destabilisation and urged society to move beyond confusion about such threats. He confirmed that they had conducted investigation against thousands of state employees.
During the briefing, a confessional statement of the arrested lecturer named Dr Usman Qazi, who was employed at BUITEMS University, was also displayed. In the video, he confessed to providing logistical support to militants, including arranging weapons and relaying targets through encrypted platforms.
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He admitted to betraying the state, despite holding a government-funded PhD and being employed in grade 18. His wife is also a government employee.
The chief minister warned that terrorist groups like the BLA and Majid Brigade are brainwashing youth and even blackmailing women to carry out attacks.
He emphasized that while the state has the capacity to eliminate terrorists, collective punishment will not be allowed. Instead, the government intends to separate militants from ordinary citizens and uphold the rule of law.
Bugti also called on parents to closely monitor their children and urged the public not to fall prey to propaganda spread under the pretext of deprivation or missing persons. He said the government remains open to dialogue, but violence against citizens will not be tolerated.
Investigations are ongoing, and authorities expect further revelations about propaganda tools and networks being used against the state.
The chief minister said terrorists are targeting innocent children and passengers, and now the strategy against them will be different. Misleading elements will be brought to justice, he expressed his resolve.