On 24 October 2016, three heavily armed terrorists carried out an attack on the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

training college in

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, killing 61 cadets and injuring more than 165 others. The

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

claimed responsibility for the attack, and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed to have collaborated with them. According to Pakistani authorities, the assailants came from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and were in contact with their handlers there while perpetrating the attack.

Attack

Three militants entered the training centre around 11:10 pm on Tuesday 24 October, while cadets were sleeping, and opened fire before taking hundreds of police cadets hostage and engaging in a standoff with security forces. At least 61 people were killed and over 165 people were injured as well. All the three gunmen were killed during the attack. Two detonated suicide belts and the third was shot by police. Many of the victims were killed when the attackers detonated their belts.

Captain Roohullah Mohmand

Captain Roohullah neutralized one suicide bomber and tackled another, who detonated his explosives, killing Captain Roohullah instantly. His courageous action saved numerous lives, as many cadets were able to escape the attack. His heroic sacrifice earned him the Tamgha-i-Jurat, Pakistan's fourth-highest military honor. Captain Roohullah is remembered as a national hero in

for his sacrifice.

Perpetrators

Pakistan's national security advisor Naseer Khan Janjua stated to U.S. ambassador David Hale that India's

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the Republic of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, and a ...

and Afghanistan's

National Directorate of Security The National Directorate of Security (NDS; ; ) was the national intelligence agency, intelligence and security agency, security service of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul, and it had field offices and ...

(NDS) were "patronising" terrorist organisations on attacking soft targets in Pakistan, and emphasised the need for effective action against militant elements in Afghanistan linked to the attack. Maj. Gen. Sher Afgan, the chief of the

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps (, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's b ...

in Quetta, said that a faction of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Pakistan-based sectarian Sunni group, was believed to have carried out the attack. Shortly afterwards,

(ISIL) claimed responsibility via its Amaq media wing. It also released the photos of the claimed attackers.Quetta attack survivor: 'We were sleeping when terrorists attacked'
CNN, 25 October 2016. Salman Masood

''The New York Times'', 25 October 2016. Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
Quetta Police College Attack: Pakistan Is Increasingly Vulnerable to Terrorism
The Diplomat, 25 October 2016. A senior security official said that the ISIL had "outsourced" the attack to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. A spokesman of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi faction ''Al-Alami'' subsequently told

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

that the two groups (''Al-Alami'' and ISIL) had "done this attack together".LeJ 'collaborated with ISIS' for Quetta attack
''The Nation'', 26 October 2016. Analysts said that the ISIL clearly has a presence in Pakistan and has local groups working with it.

Aftermath

Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

cancelled all of his engagements and called a meeting with arms officials in Quetta. Pakistan's national security advisor Naseer Khan Janjua stated to U.S. ambassador David Hale that India's

and Afghanistan's

Sanaullah Zehri Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri (; born 4 August 1961) is a Pakistani politician who had been the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 24 December 2015 to 9 December 2017. He belongs to Channal Zarakzai family and is also the Sardar of the Zehri t ...

revealed on 10 November 2016 the arrest of mastermind and facilitator of the attack.

Reactions

International

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, French Foreign Minister

Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 ...

, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affair, German Minister of Foreign Affairs

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

, Indian Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar (13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party who was the Chief Minister of Goa for three terms. He also served as the Union Minister of Defence ...

, Russia President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, British Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, United States State Department Spokesperson John Kirby all condemned the attack and expressed their solidarity with Pakistan. The United Nations and the European Union condemned the terrorist attack, and pledged to "work closely together with Pakistan to fight the global threat of terrorism and expressed condolences to the families of the victims."

Attack

Captain Roohullah Mohmand

Perpetrators

Aftermath

Reactions

International

See also

References

Further reading