DIG Azfar Mahesar says more than thirty large drums, five cylinders in Raees Goth raid; three BLA-linked terrorists arrested
Nazir Siyal
KARACHI: A major terror plot has been averted as the law enforcement agencies recovered over two tonnes of explosives in an operation in Karachi’s Raees Goth, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Deputy Inspector General Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said on Monday.
“One truck, more than thirty large drums, five cylinders have been seized,” said the CTD officer while briefing the media alongside CTD AIG Zulfiqar Larik.
Providing details of the operation, DIG Mahesar noted that more than 2,000 kilogrammes of explosives have been recovered and three terrorists have been arrested.
Noting that the explosives had been defused, the police officer said that the suspects had planned a major terrorist attack in Karachi.
On the identity of the terrorists, the DIG said that they are associated with Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) commander Bashir.
Pointing out that commercial-grade explosives were also recovered, he said that the explosives were being transported via various routes and consolidated at the location concerned.
Apprising of those behind the terror plot, DIG Mahesar said that the planning was carried out abroad.
The action comes against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide counterterrorist efforts in the country, which has witnessed an increase in terror incidents since the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.
The country, however, has experienced an almost 17% drop in terrorist attacks in December 2025 and a 9% decline in November, according to a Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) annual security report.
Pakistan had closed the Torkham and Chaman borders with Afghanistan on October 12 after the Afghan Taliban, in association with their affiliated militants, attacked multiple Pakistan Armed Forces posts along the border.
However, the report highlights that the 2025 witnessed a 34% surge in overall violence making it the most violent year for the country in a decade where it has “suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38% in 2021, over 15% in 2022, 56% in 2023, nearly 67% in 2024, and 34% in 2025”.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has faced the brunt of terrorist attacks and accounted for over 96% of all fatalities and almost 93% of violent incidents recorded during the entire 2025.
Meanwhile, Sindh reported 51 incidents causing 56 fatalities and 40 injuries; 1.73% of the total.
With about 2,060 deaths as a result of at least 392 security operations, the outlaws accounted for over 60% of the fatalities recorded in 2025 — surpassing the combined fatal losses among the civilians and security officials.
