The state cannot remain aloof to terrorism and must take every possible measure to tackle it decisively. Chief Minister of Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, took a necessary and clear-headed stance by holding abettors and accommodators of terrorists strictly accountable. In counterterrorism dynamics, neutrality is an illusion: individuals and landowners will either stand with the state or face legal accountability for facilitating anti-state elements.
For years, terrorists have deliberately exploited private lands—particularly agricultural property and dense orchards nestled adjacent to major transit corridors like the N-25 and N-40 highways—as covert staging grounds. From these hideouts, terrorists set up illegal checkpoints, intercept civilian buses, strike economic infrastructure, and target security convoys before retreating under the cover of private property.
The necessity of enforcing property owner accountability becomes undeniably clear when looking at the recurring wave of violence originating from private grounds around the Mastung and Khad Kocha belts.
On 29 May 2015, terrorists in security-style uniforms intercepted a Quetta–Karachi coach in Khad Kocha, abducting and killing 22 passengers. Terrorist groups leveraged private orchard coverage to stage the interception and escape into the terrain.
Between 23 and 25 July 2026, following the assassination of Judge Abdul Hakim Kakar on the national highway into Mastung and a terrorist attack on a Karachi-bound coach that left three civilians dead, security forces launched Operation Al-Azm. Operations in Khad Kocha led to the destruction of terror hideouts embedded within local private lands, revealing the depth of terrorist facilitator networks in the area.
On 14 August 2026, terrorists ambushed the convoy of Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove along the N-25 highway near Kund Umarani, Khad Kocha. Heavy gunfire was launched directly by terrorists from adjacent private orchards, injuring multiple police personnel and civilians.
On 21 August 2026, an explosion triggered by terrorist activity inside a private orchard in Khad Kocha killed four to six laborers and injured three others, demonstrating how private agricultural lands are actively being turned into dangerous combat zones by terrorist presence.
As CM Bugti stated, while the government takes extreme care to prevent collateral damage—recognizing that terrorists routinely use civilians as human shields—landowners cannot hide behind claims of ignorance. If a terrorist attack on security forces or a minister originates from a private vineyard or orchard, the owner cannot simply claim they were unaware of terrorists operating on their land.
This approach is firmly rooted in established national and international counterterrorism jurisprudence:
Under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), harboring terrorists, providing resources, or failing to disclose information that could prevent a terrorist act carries direct facilitator liability. Any property used to facilitate or launch a terrorist attack is subject to being frozen, attached, or forfeited to the State.
Under United States Material Support Statutes and Civil Asset Forfeiture laws, a property owner who learns of terrorist activity on their land and fails to take all reasonable steps to terminate it loses the “innocent owner” defense. The land itself can be forfeited to the government even without a direct criminal conviction of the landowner for terrorism.
Under the United Kingdom’s Terrorism Act 2000, anyone controlling property who has reasonable cause to suspect it may be used for terrorism faces property forfeiture. Claiming passive ignorance offers no legal protection when suspicious terrorist activity was obvious.
Under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), knowingly holding, concealing, or permitting property to be used for terrorist activities is a distinct, punishable offense, with legal attachment of assets allowed even prior to conviction.
Across every major legal system, property ownership comes with an inherent duty of care. When private lands are converted into staging grounds for terrorist ambushes against security forces and public transport, the State is fully justified in enforcing strict accountability to protect its citizens and preserve national security.
