Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Thursday said that Zubair Advocate alias Shah Jee, killed in a recent intelligence-based operation in Chagai, was a terrorist linked with the proscribed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF).
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Bugti stated that Zubair was actively involved in running a BLF network in Dalbandin, monitoring the movement of Chinese nationals, and recruiting locals for militant activities. “He was not just a facilitator but a key figure in planning subversive attacks,” the chief minister said.
According to security sources, Zubair had been under two months of technical surveillance after being identified by previously arrested militants. The monitoring provided evidence of his role in the targeted killing of two Pakistan Air Force personnel in May in Chagai, and in organising BLF’s recruitment campaigns.
Bugti said that on the night of Sept 23–24, security forces located Zubair’s hideout and called on him and his associates to surrender. “They opened fire instead, injuring a Frontier Corps soldier. In the exchange of fire, Zubair and one accomplice were killed, while Jehanzeb, another militant, surrendered and later confessed to multiple attacks,” he added.
The chief minister revealed that Jehanzeb’s confession video was also shown to the media, in which he admitted involvement in supplying arms and material in Dalbandin and in carrying out various militant operations.
Bugti also highlighted the arrest of Dr Usman Qazi, a university lecturer accused of planning an attack on August 14. He described it as a “high-value target” whose detention thwarted a major terror plot.
He stressed that militant groups were trying to hit key installations in Balochistan and that decisive air and ground operations were necessary. “No one will be allowed to disturb the province’s peace,” he asserted, adding that internet service suspensions in some areas were aimed at disrupting militant communication despite public criticism.
