By Imran Nasir

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan says its security agencies have obtained what it describes as “undeniable evidence” linking India to a series of coordinated terrorists attacks carried out across the southwestern province of Balochistan , as Islamabad renewed long-standing claim that New Delhi supports terrorist groups operating inside Pakistan.

The attacks, which took place on Saturday across at least 12 locations including Quetta, Noshki, Dalbandin, Pasni and the port city of Gwadar, martyred at least 15 members of Pakistan’s security forces and 18 civilians, according to official figures. Dozens more were injured.

Pakistan’s military said nearly 100 terrorists were killed during day-long clashes on Saturday, while the total number of terrorists killed in fighting on Friday and Saturday rose to 133.

Senior Pakistani security officials said that intelligence agencies intercepted communications between terrorists involved in the attacks and their handlers based in India and Afghanistan.

“Intelligence agencies intercepted live communications between terrorists and their handlers operating from India and Afghanistan during the coordinated attacks,” a senior security official told  The South Asia Times, while speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

“There is undeniable proof of Indian involvement in these attacks,” the official said.

According to security sources, mobile phones recovered from terrorists killed during the operations contained messages exchanged through encrypted social media applications. The communications were traced to phone numbers originating in India and Afghanistan.

“The terrorists were receiving instructions throughout the day from their handlers,” the official said.

- Indian behind terrorism in region

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Quetta late Saturday to oversee the security situation following the attacks. Speaking to reporters, he said that India is planning and supporting these terrorists groups.

“India is behind these attacks. I can say for sure that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists,” Naqvi said. “We have the evidence and will present it before the international community.”

“The world must recognise that India is the main sponsor of terrorism in this region, providing not only funding but also operational planning and strategic guidance,” he added. “We will defeat these efforts, as we have in the past.”

Naqvi is expected to hold a news conference soon.

India previously rejected Pakistan statements of New Delhi involvement in the terror attacks inside the South Asian country.

Islamabad has for years said that India is backing terrorists groups operating in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, a resource-rich province that has witnessed a low-level insurgency for more than two decades.

Pakistan has previously said it shared intelligence dossiers with the United Nations and major world powers of Indian involvement in terrorists activities.

Pakistani officials frequently cite the case of Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, a serving Indian navy comander, who was working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), a premier intelligence agency of India. Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan in 2016, convicted by a military court on charges of espionage, sabotage and terrorism, and sentenced to death in 2017.

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a former naval officer but denies he was engaged in espionage

Pakistani officials said Jadhav was running a network of terrorists in Balochistan and providing financial and logistical support to insurgent groups.

The latest allegations against New Delhi come amid heightened scrutiny of India’s overseas intelligence activities.

The United States has last years accused Indian officials of being linked to a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh activist on American soil, while Canada has formally blamed Indian involvement in the 2023 killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

Australia has also said it raised concerns with New Delhi over alleged Indian intelligence-linked surveillance and interference activities targeting diaspora communities.

- Afghanistan angle

Security officials also said that terrorists involved in the latest attacks were in contact with handlers based in Afghanistan, reviving Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border militancy.

“Our agencies intercepted communications showing coordination with handlers in Afghanistan as well,” a Pakistani official said.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused terrorists groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) of operating from Afghan territory, allegations that Afghanistan’s Taliban regime deny.

In official Pakistani terminology, the TTP and BLA are referred to as Fitna al-Khwarij and Fitna al-Hindustan, respectively.

Last week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also urged Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to ensure their territory is not used to launch attacks against neighbouring countries, including Pakistan.

“We are particularly concerned about the Pakistani Taliban and the support they might receive,” Guterres said. “It is essential that no terrorist organizations operate from Afghanistan into other countries.”

His comments followed reports by the UN Security Council monitoring team that alleged continued links between the Afghan Taliban and the TTP, which has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

- Regional tension

Pakistani officials have also pointed to Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi in October last year, where he met Indian political and security officials. Islamabad said terrorists attacks increased in Pakistan following the visit.

Officials further allege that during the administrations of former Afghan presidents Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai, Indian intelligence agencies operated offices under the cover of non-governmental organisations in Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan.

They say attacks briefly declined after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, when Indian diplomatic staff and intelligence agents left Afghanistan, before rising again from 2022 onwards.

- Rising militancy

According to official Pakistani data, security forces carried out more than 75,000 intelligence-based operations in 2025. During the year, authorities recorded 5,397 terrorists attacks nationwide, killing 2,597 terrorists. At least 1,235 civilians and members of the security forces were also killed.

Officials say 27 suicide attacks took place last year, including two carried out by women. Pakistani authorities claim that most suicide bombers involved were Afghan nationals.

The latest violence underscores the fragile security situation in Balochistan and the broader regional tensions between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India, whose relations remain strained over Kashmir and Indian alleged support for terrorists organizations in the region.