Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langau announced on Wednesday that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were collaborating on terrorist activities in Pakistan, with India serving as their primary sponsor.
During a press conference in Quetta, Langau revealed that security forces had arrested two significant militant commanders: Nasrullah, also known as Maulvi Mansoor, from the TTP, and Idrees, also known as Irshad. A recorded statement from Nasrullah was then shown.
State-run Radio Pakistan reported that Nasrullah was apprehended through a complex and challenging operation conducted by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Langau emphasized, “The global community should now be clear that India is an international terrorist country behind these activities.” He pointed out that while the TTP aims to “introduce an Islamic system,” the BLA is ideologically opposed to them, indicating a shared sponsor manipulating them for different purposes.
Langau asserted that the financial support and intelligence resources of both the BLA and the TTP, including their members abroad, clearly pointed to funding from RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), India’s intelligence agency. He identified Nasrullah as a core committee member of the TTP and part of its defense commission.
The minister urged the youth and women of Balochistan to recognize the true intentions of terrorists, stressing that those leading them into conflict had no connection to their rights. He encouraged them to support Pakistan’s security forces and government.
Earlier this month, the BLA had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of 10 people from a picnic spot in Harnai. Last month, the Balochistan government announced the arrest of two suspects linked to the murder of seven laborers from Punjab in Sarbandan. A Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department official confirmed the suspects were BLA members. The BLA also claimed responsibility for killing nine passengers after forcing them off a bus bound for Taftan in Noshki in April.
In his video statement, Nasrullah, who hails from South Waziristan’s Sararogha tehsil, recounted his journey from working with Baitullah Mehsud to joining the TTP in 2007. He described settling in Afghanistan’s Paktika province during Operation Zarb-i-Azb and participating in attacks on Pakistan Army checkpoints in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Nasrullah disclosed that he had been serving as an “emir” in the TTP’s defense commission since 2023. He detailed a plan devised in January 2024, where a BLA guide would help him cross the Pak-Afghan border via Spin Boldak and travel to southern Balochistan. This plan was coordinated with BLA Majeed Brigade commander Bashir Zeb, with RAW’s involvement.
He claimed RAW aimed to establish a nexus between the BLA and TTP and set up TTP bases in Khuzdar. The objectives included sabotaging CPEC projects and targeting Chinese citizens, conducting kidnappings to highlight enforced disappearances and discredit intelligence agencies, and fostering anarchy and frustration through terrorist activities in Balochistan.
Nasrullah recounted that while implementing this plan, they encountered a Pakistan Army patrol near Kalat, prompting the BLA guide to flee. Nasrullah and his accomplices attempted to escape but were soon captured. He alleged that Mehsud held meetings with RAW agents at the Indian embassy in Kabul, supported by the Afghan government.
Expressing regret for his actions as a TTP member, Nasrullah sought forgiveness from God and the people harmed by his activities.
