Balochistan Timeline - Year 2005

A bomb exploded and three rockets were fired targeting sites in Quetta. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. The rockets were fired at a highway police checkpoint in suburban Quetta near Hazaar Ganji at about 11:00pm (PST). Earlier, a bomb exploded behind the Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education building at about 8:00pm. Capital City Police Officer, Pervez Rafi Bhatti, said the attacks were in reaction to the 15 arrests made in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan after the Meezan Chowk bomb attack last month in which 11 people died.

January 7

Rocket attack destroys a gas pipeline in the Sui area.

January 9

Unidentified people blow up a gas pipeline again at Sui killing six people, including two Frontier Corps personnel, and injuring 11 others.

January 10

Two more people die in continued rocket attacks by unidentified people on a gas installation in the Sui area.

Three brothers are killed and their parents’ sustain injuries when an explosive device went off in their home in the Drengar area of Mastung district.

January 11

At least two Defence Services Guard personnel are killed and five others sustain injuries as unidentified people attacked the Sui gas field. Military authorities extend the deadline for two wanted militants in South Waziristan to surrender to January 26.

January 14

The Balochistan Government formally seeks Federal Government's assistance to ensure security of natural gas installations in the Sui area.

January 15

Unidentified assailants fire six rockets targeting a checkpoint of the paramilitary forces in Kohlu district, located some 160 kilometers north of Sui.

January 17

Unidentified persons fire at least six rockets at a Frontier Corps camp near Mach.

A bomb exploded in the ministers' block of the Balochistan Civil Secretariat in Quetta without causing any damage. It was the second bomb blast in the ministers' block in a month. Earlier, a bomb exploded at a washroom of the ministers' block on December 18, 2004.

January 26

Three rockets were fired in the Quetta, Sibi and Dhadar areas of Balochistan province, but no loss of life or damage to property was reported. While a rocket landed in the Askari Park area of provincial capital, Quetta, another rocket was fired in Sibi, and a third rocket targeted the Dhadar area, headquarters of Bolan district.

The Pakistan Army has set up a new military base near the Sui gas field, where troops have been deployed after a series of rocket attacks disrupted fuel supplies earlier this month. The decision was announced to journalists on a trip organised by the military to Balochistan.

23 Afghans were reportedly in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province on suspicion of their links with the Taliban and al Qaeda. The suspects, who included a former deputy governor and ex-police chief of Kabul, were arrested from three places in Quetta, said Balochistan Police chief, Mohammed Yaqub. He said the detainees had held "important positions during Taliban's tenure" in Afghanistan, and "we suspect that some of them have close links with Al Qaeda." Yaqub disclosed that the suspects were detained during raids in Kharotabad, Pashtun Abad and Nawan Kili.

At least two bomb explosions and as many rocket attacks were reported from Quetta. However, no casualties were reported. Police said a powerful bomb exploded in the Zarghoon road residence of Munir Ahmed, an official of the Pakistan Railways, who has recently assumed his charge after being transferred from Sibi. When police teams were inspecting the site of the blast, another explosion occurred near the Officers Club of Pakistan Railways next to Quetta railway station.

Unidentified miscreants are reported to have fired two rockets targeting the Quetta cantonment.

A bomb explosion was reported from the Askari Park area of Quetta. However, no casualty was reported. A second blast partially damaged an oil tanker in the Kuchlak suburb of the city. Further, Police are reported to have defused a third bomb planted inside the Askari Park.

January 31

President Pervez Musharraf has, in principle, reportedly approved the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan, which envisage issues pertaining to gas royalty as also provincial autonomy and may require constitutional amendments, besides removal of concerns on the location of Frontier Constabulary check posts in Sui and some other parts of the province. This was stated by Choudhury Shujaat Hussain, President of the ruling Muslim League, at a news conference in Karachi on January 31. The former Prime Minister also said that the Government wanted an understanding with Baloch leaders, Nawab Akbar Bugti and Sardar Attaullah Mengal, on the recommendations.

February 1

Security Forces (SFs) are reported to have escaped possible losses when two rockets targeting a key garrison in Quetta, failed to explode after their timers malfunctioned. "We got information that two rockets fitted with timers had been placed on the western by-pass in the suburbs of Quetta… Luckily the timers did not work, otherwise the rockets could have caused damage in the cantonment area," said city police chief Pervez Rafi Bhatti. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the failed attack, added Bhatti.

One person was killed and nine others sustained injuries during two bomb blasts in Quetta. City Police Officer, Pervaiz Rafi Bhatti, said that the person killed in an explosion was a saboteur, identified as Bahar Khan, and blew himself before planting the explosive in a busy center.

Nine persons were wounded when a bomb exploded near the Quetta Railway Station. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The BBC Urdu Service reported that bomb explosions cut electricity to Balochistan plunging the entire province into darkness. The report said that a high-tension power supply line was blown up by bomb attacks in the Mithri Pirak area of Sibi at approximately 9:15 pm (PST).One person is killed and nine others sustained injuries during two bomb blasts in Quetta, capital of Balochistan.

February 3

A telephone tower, an electric supply tower and a railway track were blown up in continuing attacks on vital Government installations in the Balochistan province. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.

February 5

Suspected insurgents blow up a railway track that links Pakistan with Iran in the Balochistan province, but caused no casualties.

February 8

A bomb blast destroyed a railway track in Bakhtiarabad, railway controller, Aziz Ahmad told. Another bomb blast hit a rail track in Killi Almo, on the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta, at around the same time, said railway official Mohammad Jawaid. However, there were no casualties in these explosions.

Police in the provincial capital, Quetta, claimed to have arrested an alleged terrorist, identified as Hussain Marri, and recovered 120 kg of Russian-made explosive material after an exchange of fire in the Marri camp area. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Rafi Pervez Bhatti, said that Hussain, a bodyguard of veteran Baloch nationalist leader, Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri, was an activist of the BLA.

Police arrested a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) terrorist, identified as Faisal Rafiq, from Quetta. Balochistan Inspector General of Police, Choudhury Mohammed Yaqoob, said "we suspect he was preparing to carry out a suicide attack against Shias."

February 18

Two suspected terrorists of the outlawed Sunni group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), blow themselves up with hand grenades during an exchange of fire with the police at Ghilzai road in Quetta.

Police arrested three alleged terrorists and recovered three rockets from their possession during a raid conducted at Marri camp in Quetta.

Police arrested a suspected Taliban activist from the Kuchlak area. A Kalashnikov rifle with ammunition, a mobile phone and a Thuraya satellite phone were seized from his possession.

Two successive bomb explosions occurred in Quetta. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. Police said one of the bombs exploded on the Samungli road near Saddar police station and the second blast occurred near Pishin-spot. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said six explosions occurred in different localities of Quetta, including Patel Bagh, Wahdat Colony and Shahbaz town.

Unidentified persons hurled a hand grenade at the building of Radio Pakistan Quetta. However, no casualty was reported, police said, adding that the windowpanes of some rooms of the building were destroyed in the explosion. Later, another explosion occurred near Railway Quarters at Zarghoon road. A local device along with timer for the blast was used, sources said.

February 27

Police seize a huge arms cache and explosive material, including 43 rockets, and unearth a private jail and torture cells while arresting 20 suspects during an operation targeting the Marri camp in the outskirts of Quetta.

An explosion was also reported from the Wahdat Colony area of provincial capital Quetta. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported in these incidents.

Two bomb blasts occurred at Quetta. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. Police said terrorists planted an explosive device near the house of Police Constable, Riaz Hussain, which exploded, damaging the boundary wall.

Four bombs exploded in the provincial capital Quetta, without causing any damage.

A LeJ terrorist, Ramzan Mengal, is reported to have been arrested from Quetta for his alleged involvement in a number of sectarian killings in Quetta. Mengal was arrested from the New Saraib area, Capital City Police Officer, Rafi Pervez Bhatti, said. He was responsible for a number of sectarian killings between 2001 and 2004 and carried a Rupees 1 million bounty on his head.

March 6

Two bombs exploded in the provincial capital Quetta, without causing any damage.

A 1000-line telephone exchange in the Dera Bugti district is set ablaze and a Frontier Corps check-post in Kohlu district is attacked by insurgents.

Over 25 people have reportedly been arrested in connection with bomb blasts, rocket-firing incidents and targeting vital installations in different parts of the Balochistan province. They were detained during recent police raids on the Marri camp and Killi Kambrani, Quetta, Kalat and Sibi districts, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Choudhury Yaqoob, told a press conference in the provincial capital Quetta. During interrogation, the IGP claimed, the suspects had confessed to their involvement in terrorist activities and revealed the presence of terrorist training camps in Kohlu district.

Three bomb explosions were reported from the Balochistan province. A bomb exploded near a telephone cabinet in the Kalat district, while two successive explosions occurred in the provincial capital Quetta. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported in these explosions.

March 18

A fierce gun-battle between insurgents and the Frontier Corps in the Dera Bugti district that ended early on March 18 left up to 31 people dead, including 10 Frontier Corps personnel, and more than 70 injured.

At least two passengers of the Quetta and Lahore bound Chiltan Express trains are killed and nine others sustain injuries during two separate bomb explosions in the trains at the Mach and Mushkaf areas.

An explosion occurred in Quetta near the Al-Gailani road. However, no casualties were reported.

March 19

At least 50 people are killed and over 100 others sustain injuries during a bomb explosion at a crowded gathering near the shrine of a Shia saint at Fatehpur village in the Jhal Magsi district.

A bomb exploded on the Smangli Road in Quetta without causing any damage.

March 20

Bugti tribesmen have surrounded at least 300 FC personnel and Government officials at a base in the Dera Bugti area where fears of fresh fighting between the tribesmen and troops have forced thousands of residents to flee for safety, says Balochistan Governor, Awais Ahmed Ghani, in Quetta.

April 8

Government agrees to withdraw security forces deployed between Dera Bugti and Sui.

Police arrested three people and seized a huge cache of weapons from them including hand grenades, kalashnikovs and pistols in Quetta. Superintendent of Police (CIA) Wazir Khan Nasir said the weapons had been used in bomb blasts and rocket firing incidents in the province. Among the weapons seized were 100 hand grenades, 204 explosive rods, 486 bullets, 97 rocket fuses, 4,400 kalashnikov bullets, three kalashnikovs, 15 kalashnikov magazines, two pistols, four pistol magazines, 26 remote control circuits, 48 hand grenade fuses and 300 detonators.

The Police seized a 100mm Russian-made rocket from the Killi Aminabad area of capital Quetta.

April 13

The Bugti tribesmen end blockade of the Dera Bugti-Sui Road and leave their trenches set up after a clash with security forces on March 17.

Two bomb explosions occurred in the provincial capital Quetta without causing any damage.

April 20

Four power supply towers of 33-KV are blown up by suspected insurgents near Hun Lake in the Barkhan district.

April 27

One Frontier Corps personnel is killed during a landmine explosion in the Kahan area.

May 1

A portion of the main railway track linking the provincial capital Quetta with the rest of the country is blown up near the Domboli area of Nasirabad district.

May 2

The Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan adopts, with certain amendments, the Mushahid Hussain sub-committee report comprising eight recommendations, including payment of gas royalty within a fixed period and a financial package for the development of Sui, Gwadar and Quetta.

The Government announces results of a countrywide Afghan census and disclosed that there were 3,047,225 Afghans living in Pakistan, including refugees and residents.

May 3

One person is killed and four others sustain injuries during an explosion in the border town of Chaman.

Police claimed to have foiled terrorism attempts and seized a large cache of weapons, including rockets and hand-grenades, during a raid conducted at Eastern bypass in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. The seizure included one rocket launcher, five rockets, 25 hand-grenade and seven detonators. However, no arrests were made.

Three powerful explosions were reported from the Gwadar town and two others occurred in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. In Quetta, a device exploded near a mosque on the Jaint Road and another exploded along the wall of a playground on Spani Road. However, no loss of life or injuries has been reported in these blasts.

A bomb exploded on the premises of the heavily guarded district court in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, no loss of life or damage was reported.

May 19

Two police personnel are killed during an attack on their vehicle in the Bagh area of Bolan district.

There were three bomb explosions in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, no casualties were reported. Police said a bomb exploded near the Balochistan Irrigation Department, while there were two explosions in the Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation Limited Colony on Saryab Road, damaging windows of the adjacent buildings. No group has claimed responsibility for these explosions.

June 2

One Frontier Corps personnel is killed and another sustained injuries during an attack by suspected insurgents in the Mangochar area of Kalat district.

July 13

Three children are reported to have died and three persons sustained injuries when a bomb exploded in a house in the Jhal Magsi area.

A bomb explosion occurred in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, no casualty was reported from the incident site. A bomb planted near a school in Jinnah Town exploded around 11.15pm (PST) causing panic among the people.

A bomb exploded near a shop at Jinnah Town in Quetta, the provincial capital, on the same day. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported from both the incident sites.

The police seized a huge quantity of explosive material and rockets during a raid in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. The seizure included 48-kg high power T&T material, 14 rockets, 97 detonators, 27 time pencil bombs, seven disposable rocket launchers, a map showing the important installations in Quetta and other weapons. However, no arrests were made.

Two rockets were fired at the residence of Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf in Quetta. However, no casualties were reported in the attack.

Four bomb blasts were reported from Quetta, capital of the Balochistan province. While a hand-grenade was lobbed at the building of the office of the Director-General of Health Services, another grenade targeted the office of excise department on Sariab Road after five minutes. The third targeted the head office of the Post Master General Balochistan in the same area. The location of fourth explosion could not be immediately ascertained.

Two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at Dr. Nadir Khan, a Professor of Medicine at Bolan Medical Complex, and injured him when he was on his way to a hospital in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. Police said that Prof. Khan, from the Shia sect, could have been attacked for sectarian reasons.

July 18

In a suspected sectarian incident, two unidentified assailants shot dead the owner of a school, Syed Tahir Reza Rizvi, and injured his wife in Quetta.

At least 114 suspected militants are reported to have been arrested in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, in the ongoing crackdown on Islamist extremism. "We have rounded up around 114 people from all over the city," disclosed Pervez Zahoor, a Senior Superintendent of Police, adding that hate material, including books and computer discs, were also recovered. Most of those who have been arrested reportedly belong to the outlawed Sunni group SSP.

Quetta Police found and defused a 10-kg bomb at Aalmo Chowk on Airport Road. The bomb, attached to a bicycle, was meant to target a security convoy, which passed the site within minutes of the bomb being defused.

A Shia businessman, Syed Anwar Abdi, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants in a sectarian incident at Quetta, capital of Balochistan province.

At least seven bombs exploded and more than 10 rockets were fired at Kohlu, Mach and Quetta in the Balochistan province during the last 24 hours but causing no casualties. Suspected Baloch insurgents are reported to have targeted, among other installations, a police station and railway tracks.

A cache of arms and ammunition was seized from the Punchapai area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, during an operation by the FC. The FC personnel recovered the cache, hidden underground in an uninhabited area, which included 81 mortar bombs, five hand grenades, one rocket launcher, one rocket, one 12.7mm gun and 170 bombs.

Three bomb blasts were reported from Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, no one was injured in these explosions. The first bomb, planted in the Killi Qambrani area, exploded at 7:50pm (PST) while another exploded after 50 minutes at Pod Killi Chowk. A third explosion occurred near the residence of provincial Minister Mir Asim Gaillu Kurd in the Railway Housing Society area.

August 22

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yusuf escapes unhurt after seven rockets were fired at the camp of Frontier Constabulary near Kohlu.

August 31

One person is killed and two others sustained injuries during a bomb blast in the Mastung district.

September 14

In a sectarian incident, unidentified assailants shot dead a Shia man, Ejazul Hasan, in Quetta.

September 21

Presenting its interim report in the Senate, the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan said the Frontier Constabulary and Coast Guard should be withdrawn from interior Balochistan, and proposed a number of other measures to improve the economic and social conditions of the province.

October 3

Supply of gas from Sui Southern Gas Company to five districts of Balochistan province, including capital Quetta, was disrupted when suspected insurgents blew up a portion of the main pipeline near Kolpur.

A rocket attack was reported from the cantonment area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, it did not cause any damage. A rocket landed in the residential area near Chiltan Market damaging an under-construction apartment and some cars. In another incident, police recovered a live rocket from the Killi Gul Mohammad area.

October 26

A Shia teacher, Murid Abbas, is killed on his way to school in Quetta.

Saboteurs fired a rocket at the Khuzdar cantonment area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. Police sources said that unidentified men had fired a rocket from the mountains in the west of the township targeting the office of an intelligence agency.

SFs are reported to have killed a foreign Al Qaeda suspect and arrested another in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. "Security forces had an encounter when they raided a house [at Sirki Road] in Quetta on Tuesday. They captured a foreigner and killed another and they may be Al Qaeda operatives," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told. "They are Arabs but their nationality is not yet known," Rashid added. Security agencies are reportedly trying to establish if one of the men is a wanted Syrian national, Mustafa Setmariam Nasar alias Abu Musab Al Suri, who has a bounty of $5 million. Nasar is an Al Qaeda trainer at terrorist camps in Afghanistan and an expert in using poisons and chemicals. He is allegedly also linked to the Madrid and London bombings.

November 7

Three suspected terrorists are killed when a bomb exploded in a house in the Malikabad area of Turbat district.

A rocket attack was reported from the Satellite Town area of Quetta, the provincial capital. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

November 8

The Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani promulgates the Societies Registration (Balochistan Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2005 in the province with immediate effect. Under the Ordinance, all Madrassas (seminaries) shall not operate without getting themselves registered. All seminaries, according to the Ordinance, shall submit an annual report of its educational activities to the Registrar. Every Madrassa is to carry out an audit of its accounts and submit a copy of its report to the Registrar. Under the law, no seminary shall teach or make public any literature, which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred.

November 15

At least three people are killed and 20 others, including two South African women, sustain injuries in a powerful car bomb explosion in front of the KFC restaurant in Karachi. The bomb was planted in a car parked outside the PIDC House. Chakar Azam, a spokesperson for the Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Many vehicles are damaged when a rocket hit the camp site of a Chinese construction company in the Tallar area of Gwadar district. The Chinese company is constructing a road to link Gwadar with the Turbat area of Makran.

The police seized weapons from the suburbs of capital Quetta and arrested one person. Police raided the Killi Qamrani area and seized 13 shells of 82 MM, one rocket launcher, 10 shells of RPG and some ammunition.

November 22

The Frontier Corps seizes 26 rocket launchers, 15 Kalashnikovs, six rifles and 158 mortar bombs, two land mines, 116 detonators, 56 grenades, 27 rocket shells, one pistol and over 30,000 rounds of different calibre from the Mungochar area of Kalat district.

November 28

An Anti-Terrorist Court in Quetta sentences five people to death for killing five army personnel and another man near Khuzdar on August 1, 2004.

December 2

Gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead a Shia cleric, Allama Badar-ud-Din, as he left his home to go to a mosque in Dera Murad Jamali, some 240 kilometers south of Quetta.

Suspected Baloch insurgents blew up a railway track in the Balochistan province, delaying a train but causing no casualties. The insurgents planted explosives on the track in Sariab area on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of the Balochistan province. Ghulam Rasool, Deputy Controller of Pakistan Railways, informed that the blast delayed a freight train but the damaged track was repaired in about three hours and passenger trains were not disturbed.

December 7

The Government detects existence of five to six camps, known as Ferari camps, in the Balochistan province where people are being trained to carry out terrorist activities.

During the past year, 261 bomb blasts occurred in Balochistan and 167 rockets were fired, says a report.

December 9

Police seizes an anti-aircraft gun along with 350 rounds and arrested a man, identified as Ghousuddin, from a house near the airport in Quetta.

December 11

The Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti and National Party chief Sardar Attaullah Mengal have said the Government is planning a military operation in the Balochistan province.

December 13

At least three people, including a child, are killed and six persons sustain injuries when approximately 12 rockets struck their homes at Dera Bugti.

Two rocket explosions were reported from the cantonment area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan. The first rocket landed in an open place close to the golf course of Quetta Club, while the second exploded near Madressah road soon after. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

December 16

Balochistan Police have reportedly detained more than 250 suspects in the last two days in connection with the increasing incidence of sectarian violence in the province. Quetta Range Deputy Inspector General of Police, Salman Syed, told that about 221 suspects were arrested in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, only. Around 12 incidents of targeted killing have been reported this year in which 10 people were killed and two were injured. Three people have been killed in separate incidents in this month so far.

A helicopter carrying the Frontier Corps Inspector General (IG) Major General Shujaat Zameer Dar is attacked in Kohlu, injuring the IG and his deputy, DIG Brigadier Salim Nawaz.

December 19

According to Dawn, paramilitary forces continued their operation in different areas of the Kohlu district of Balochistan province, destroying more ‘hideouts and camps of outlaws’, while the Frontier Corps (FC) camp in the Kohlu township came under rocket attacks. The Marri tribesmen and the four-party Baloch Alliance claimed that over 50 people had been killed and around 100 injured in helicopter attacks and air strikes in different areas over the past two days. The Anjuman Ittehad Marri claimed that 70 people, including women and children, had died and 150 injured in bombings by aircraft and helicopter gun-ships.

December 20

The Balochistan Students Organisation claims that 70 people had been killed and hundreds injured so far due to the firing of gunship helicopters in Kohlu district of Balochistan.

Two rocket attacks were reported from Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. However, no casuality or loss of property was reported. Official sources said the first rocket was fired at around 9.35pm in an open area on the Sirki Road. The other rocket, fired about half and hour later, exploded at a place in the cantonment area. Meanwhile, reports from Harnai said that two bomb explosions occurred near the railway station but caused no damage.

December 26

In the ongoing military operations in Balochistan, SFs continued to target camps of suspected insurgents in the Kohlu and Dera Bugti areas. Officials claimed that out of 13, six camps had been dismantled in Kohlu since the launch of the operations on December 18.