Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.5 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. Quetta is at an average elevation of 1,680 metres above sea level, making it Pakistan's highest altitude major city. The city is known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it and the large variety of fresh and dried fruits produced there.
Gwadar is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958. It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Turbat. The sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan ve Baluchestan province is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar. On 2 April 2021, it was declared the winter capital of Balochistan.
Terrorism in Pakistan, according to the Ministry of Interior, poses a significant threat to the people of Pakistan. The wave of terrorism in Pakistan is believed to have started in 2000. Attacks and fatalities in Pakistan were on a "declining trend" between 2015 and 2019, but has gone back up from 2020-2022, with 971 fatalities in 2022.
Pasni, is a city and a fishing port in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is located on the Makran coast on Arabian Sea about 450 km (280 mi) from Karachi. Administratively, Pasni is the headquarters of Pasni Tehsil, a sub-division of Gwadar District. Astola Island lies 40 km (25 mi) ESE of Pasni, in the Arabian Sea. The city of Pasni is administratively subdivided into two Union Councils.
Turbat is a city in southern Balochistan, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Kech District. Situated on the bank of the Kech River, Turbat was the historical capital of the State of Makran. Turbat is the second-largest city in Balochistan after Quetta and the 38th largest city of Pakistan. It is the largest city in the southern part of the province. The Gwadar Port lies 180 kilometres (110 mi) southwest of Turbat.
Astola Island also known as Jezira Haft Talar, Satadip, 'Island of the Seven Hills' or Dajjal Island is a small uninhabited Pakistani island in the Arabian Sea approximately 25 km (16 mi) south of the nearest part of the coast and 39 km (24 mi) southeast of the fishing port of Pasni.
The N-10 or National Highway 10 is a 653 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni, both in Balochistan.
The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Balochistan of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources, this is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan and Iran, and armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan. In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.
The Balochistan Liberation Army is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in the Baluchistan region of Afghanistan. Operating primarily from safe havens scattered across southern Afghanistan, BLA perpetrates attacks in neighboring Pakistan's Balochistan province, which it seeks to remove from Pakistani sovereignty. It frequently targets Pakistan Armed Forces, civilians and foreign nationals.
Pasni Fish Harbour is located in Pasni, Balochistan, Pakistan, operated by the Government of Balochistan.
The Port of Pasni is located in the town of Pasni, Gwadar District, Balochistan province, Pakistan. The facilities include a modern fish harbour with four piers and a cargo jetty, together with a coast guard base called PMSA Rishad, operated by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency. The port has been suffering from silting since at least 2003, with unsuccessful attempts at clearing the harbour.
Pakistan Navy Station Makran, (reporting name: PNS Makran formerly known as Coastal Naval Air Station, Pasni, is a naval air station and a military airport located in the Coastal city of Pasni, Balochistan.
Abdul Qadir Baloch is a Pakistani politician and retired army general who served as Minister for States and Frontier Regions in the third Sharif ministry from 2013 to 2017, and in the Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Baloch briefly served as the Governor of Balochistan during Pervez Musharraf rule in 2003.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2015.
The 2014 Quetta airbase attack occurred on 15 August 2014, when approximately 13 Tehrik-i-Taliban militants attempted to storm two airbases of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force; PAF Base Samungli and Khalid Airbase, both located in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. The attack was largely unsuccessful as Pakistani security forces foiled the attempt following a major armed engagement between the two sides which resulted in the deaths of 12 militants, while 12 people were injured, including one attacker and 11 security personnel.
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2019 include:
The 2019 Quetta bombing was a suicide bomb attack on an open marketplace in Quetta, Pakistan on 12 April, killing 21 people. The bombing took place near an area where many minority Shiite Muslims live. At least ten Hazara, including nine Shiites, were among the dead. Two paramilitary soldiers were also killed in the bombing. PM Imran Khan expressed condolences for the lives lost, directed the authorities to ensure the best medical treatment for the injured, and ordered an increase in security for Shiites and Hazara people. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ISIL later accepted responsibility for the attack, stating that "their target were Hazara people."
On 23 June 2021, a car bomb exploded in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, killing three people.
Pakistan Naval Station Siddique, known as PNS Siddique formerly known as Naval Air Station, Turbat, is a naval air station and a military airport located in Turbat city of Makran, Balochistan. It is one of four active Naval Air Arm bases and currently the second largest naval air station after PNS Mehran.
