RFE/RL reports Pakistan recruiting former Afghan soldiers for Balochistan fight

September 15, 2026 at 04:19 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Pakistani security agencies are recruiting former Afghan soldiers and police for counter-militancy operations in Balochistan, RFE/RL reports citing sources. Nearly 2,000 former Afghan security personnel have been recruited, according to a source tracking militant activity. Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the program exists.

Key Facts

A source tracking militant activity told RFE/RL that nearly 2,000 former Afghan police officers and soldiers have been recruited in Balochistan.
Recruited former Afghan security personnel receive roughly 40,000 Pakistani rupees ($145) per month, according to Khan, a former Afghan soldier who was approached to join.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Pakistani state, while the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has stepped up attacks in Balochistan's Pashtun-majority northern districts.
Pakistani authorities have not confirmed that such a recruitment program exists.

Recruitment Allegations

Khan, a former Afghan soldier living in Pakistan, told RFE/RL that a former Afghan police officer offered him work with Pakistani security agencies on counter-militancy operations in Balochistan. The former police officer, who is well-housed in Pakistan and enjoys the support of local officials, had already recruited hundreds of unemployed Afghan police personnel who crossed into Pakistan after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Khan said. Khan said the facilitator continued to contact him directly or through a third person, and the persistent approaches became so concerning that he moved to another location. Once recruited, former Afghan security officers and soldiers are introduced to local police stations in their assigned areas so they do not face problems when carrying arms or when stopped for identification at police checkpoints, according to Khan.

Security Context

Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province is confronting a worsening security crisis, with Baluch separatist groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) waging a decades-long insurgency against the Pakistani state. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has stepped up attacks in Balochistan's Pashtun-majority northern districts, widening a conflict that had previously been concentrated largely in neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan's former tribal areas along the Afghan border. Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism operations amid rising militant violence in Balochistan and neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Regional Implications

If confirmed, the recruitment of Afghans would put some of the soldiers and police who fought the Taliban before the collapse of the Western-backed Kabul government in 2021 into Pakistan's increasingly complex fight against militants. The program could further complicate Islamabad's already tense relations with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.