Published On 7/7/2026
Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday that 9 police officers were killed in an attack by gunmen on a checkpoint at a dam construction site in the troubled Balochistan province, southwest of the country.
Agence France-Presse quoted an official in the region as saying: “Nine police officers were killed and others went missing following an attack on a checkpoint protecting the Mangi Dam construction site.”
A spokesman for the regional government confirmed the death toll, noting that among the dead were senior officers from multiple police stations. The spokesman held those he described as “Islamic militants” responsible for the attack.
He said that elements of the paramilitary, police and counter-terrorism forces “successfully carried out joint sweeping operations” against what he called “militants.”
Pakistan has been waging a struggle against a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for years, with militants targeting government forces, foreign investment projects and infrastructure in this mineral-rich region bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Attacks on border areas
This comes within the framework of the escalation of attacks launched by militants in the border areas, attacks that Islamabad says originate in Afghanistan, while the Afghan authorities continually deny any involvement in them.
Pakistan has launched air strikes inside Afghan territory in recent months, confirming that they are targeting “militants,” but officials in the Afghan government and the United Nations say that these raids resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians.
Pakistan has recently witnessed an escalation in armed operations, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.
Islamabad also accuses what is known as the “Pakistani Taliban” of carrying out attacks from Afghan territory, which the Afghan government denies.
On the other hand, militants of what is known as the “Balochistan Liberation Army” are active in the Balochistan region, demanding the region’s secession from Pakistan and granting it autonomy for the Baloch nationality.
