QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday that the arrested lecturer Muhammad Usman Qazi admitted during interrogation that he maintained links with terrorists and facilitated suicide bombers.
Addressing a press conference along with IGP and ministers, Bugti said terrorist attacks are being falsely presented as a human rights movement, calling it a “well-planned conspiracy” aimed at legitimizing the war against Pakistan.
Speaking at a press conference, he warned that militant groups in Balochistan use multiple tactics to lure youth. He cited an example where the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested a suicide bomber, but local residents resisted and freed him before he was taken away. “This shows parts of society are still providing shelter and support to militants,” Bugti said. He urged citizens to stay away from such elements, warning that they will otherwise be treated as facilitators.
The Chief Minister revealed that the BLA’s Majeed Brigade operates in three tiers. The first consists of uneducated youth recruited through propaganda on social media and turned into suicide bombers or sent to fight in the mountains. The second tier focuses on urban target killings, even using women as operatives. The third and most dangerous tier, Bugti said, involves educated and highly qualified individuals.
He disclosed that authorities recently arrested Dr. Muhammad Usman Qazi, head of the Majeed Brigade’s “sophisticated tier.” Qazi, a PhD in Pakistan Studies and a lecturer, also treated injured militants at his home. Bugti said Qazi’s wife, herself a teacher, could not have remained unaware of these activities. “One can only imagine how many students were influenced under their supervision,” he remarked.
Calling it a long-running and organized plot to destabilize Pakistan, Bugti said some political leaders are misled into framing terrorism as an issue of underdevelopment. “Violence in Balochistan is not linked to deprivation. It is part of a larger conspiracy,” he stressed.
He clarified that the provincial government does not support collective punishment. However, it is reviewing cases where family members of militants fail to report their involvement. “If a terrorist goes to camps, comes back home, lives with his family, teaches in schools, and his family stays silent, then the whole household is complicit,” Bugti warned. He said such families will now face legal consequences.
Bugti also announced that for the first time, a dedicated cell has been set up in the Home Department to counter subversion. Over 2,000 government employees have been screened. Some were cleared, while others received show-cause notices, suspensions, or dismissals. “We will not spare anyone involved in anti-state activities,” he said firmly.
The Chief Minister appealed to parents to closely monitor their children. “If your son or nephew joins a militant group, inform the authorities immediately,” he said. Bugti stressed that the fight against terrorism is not only for security forces but for the entire society.
