KARACHI: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Thursday said the issue of missing persons has been exploited to create a narrative against the state, Dawn.com reported.
While calling it a “controversial” subject, Mr Bugti claimed missing persons wasn’t an issue limited to Balochistan only.
“There is a missing count. There are people missing in KP. No one speaks about them,” he claimed.
He went on to explain that there was a difference between “self-disappearance” and enforced disappearances.
“Many have self-disappeared. That’s why we passed a law and political dialogue will continue,” he added.
The law CM Bugti referred to was passed by the Balochistan Assembly on Wednesday.
The Anti-Terrorism (Balochistan Amendment) Act, 2025, gave law enforcement agencies the power to detain any person for three months without charging them.
The bill, seen by Dawn, proposed that anyone suspected of terrorism may be held in preventive detention for the purpose of inquiry.
The inquiry will be led by a police officer not below the rank of superintendent or through a joint interrogation team.
‘RAW-funded war’
The CM blamed India for terrorism in Pakistan.
The country was fighting a full-fledged “intelligence-driven war” funded by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and carried out through “Indian proxies,” he claimed.
His remarks came as the security situation in Balochistan continues to deteriorate, with militants escalating attacks as part of a long-running insurgency.
Last week, a district official was killed as militants laid siege to Balochistan’s Surab city. They looted a bank and attacked the homes of several government officials.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Mr Bugti said the militancy in Balochistan was “a completely RAW-funded intelligence-driven war against the state of Pakistan”.
After the army gave a “befitting reply” to the Indian aggression last month, New Delhi “ignited the Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan,” Mr Bugti said, while referring to the official label for all terrorist groups and organisations operating in Balochistan.
During his press conference, CM Bugti showed a video of what he said was an “Indian proxy” agent talking to an unknown person — that the chief minister claimed was a RAW handler — sharing intelligence about Karachi port as evidence of Indian involvement.
“The government has sufficient evidence against Fitna al Hindustan which will be shared at the appropriate time,” he said.
The chief minister said these “Indian proxies” had no connection with the Baloch identity, but were terrorists attacking Pakistani citizens and security forces.
“They should not be connected with Baloch identity. The Baloch have their own culture but they [terrorists] have [done away with] all norms. They are terrorists killing innocent Pakistanis and attacking security forces,” the chief minister said.
In reply to a question, he said the government could launch an operation in Balochistan against the terrorists, but security forces were focusing on small kinetic operations.
“There can be an operation in Balochistan like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but it is not in law enforcement agencies’ capacity,” he said. “The solution is small, kinetic operations that security forces are conducting.”
“If required, we will not hesitate to use the military to conduct an operation.”
Mr Bugti claimed terrorists have acquired the weapons left by US forces in Afghanistan, while ammunition has also been supplied to them by RAW.
Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2025