- Bugti announces Rs3b initiative to lay fibre optic cables.
- Project aimed to provide internet while monitoring usage.
- Says 12 terrorists killed during bank robbery bid in Kharan.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Friday expressed concerns over internet towers in sparsely populated areas of the province, saying such tools could be misused against the state.
Addressing a presser in Quetta, CM Bugti said that he was surprised that places like Sangan, where there was barely any population, had internet towers.
“When I fly over in a helicopter, 4G services are running there. Who put them up, and why?” he asked, warning that militants could use them against the state and law enforcement.
The Balochistan chief minister also announced a Rs3 billion initiative to lay fibre optic cables across all schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals in the province.
The project, he said, aimed to provide internet to people while monitoring its usage.
On security matters in the province, Bugti credited the Frontier Corps (FC) with neutralising 12 terrorists during a recent operation in Kharan town.
The militants were killed while attempting to loot banks, he said, adding that around 15 to 20 persons tried to enter banks in the town.
CM Bugti noted that one civilian was injured during the operation, who was receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
He added that four terrorists were killed on the spot by law enforcement at three different locations.
The militants tried to break ATMs and escape with cash, with some managing to steal Rs3.4 million from one bank, he stated.
The incidents, he noted, showed how ideology-driven individuals have turned to bank robberies.
CM Bugti’s presser comes as the country has witnessed a notable surge in terror incidents since the Afghan Taliban took over Kabul in 2021.
In 2025, the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan, as per the statistics revealed by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country, wherein as many as 2,597 terrorists were killed.
