Pakistani university lecturer arrested for planning foiled Balochistan attack, officials say

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Security forces in southwestern Pakistan arrested a university lecturer accused of planning a foiled suicide attack that would have targeted last week’s Independence Day celebrations in insurgency-hit Balochistan province, officials said Monday.

The suspect, Usman Qazi is claimed to have links with the outlawed Majeed Brigade, the suicide squad of the Balochistan Liberation Army, according to the province’s Chief Minister, Sarfraz Bugti.

During a press conference in the city of Quetta, Bugti showed video footage with Qazi admitting to planning the thwarted attack as well as aiding militants in recent years. It was unclear whether Qazi made those remarks under duress.

Bugti did not clarify when the arrest was made, and only said the man was still being questioned.

The arrest comes a week after the U.S. State Department designated BLA and the Majeed Brigade a foreign terrorist organization. The group is already banned at home.

Bugti said it was the first time security forces acting on intelligence had captured a senior member of the Majeed Brigade. He said Qazi confessed to involvement in past attacks, including last year’s railway station bombing in Quetta that killed 32 people.

There was no immediate comment from the BLA about the arrest.

Balochistan has long seen violence blamed on separatist groups, including the BLA. The province is rich in natural resources and home to projects tied to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, where Chinese nationals and Pakistani security forces have also been targeted by insurgents.

The separatists demand independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad. Though the government said it had quelled the insurgency, violence persists there.