ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday Islamabad would not close the “doors for dialogue” with militants, a day after troops concluded a four-day long operation against separatist insurgents in the southwestern Balochistan province.
On Wednesday night, Baloch insurgents launched attacks on paramilitary camps in Balochistan’s Naushki and Panjgur districts near the border with Iran. On Saturday, the Pakistan army said 20 militants and nine soldiers had been killed in the operation to clear the bases, which lasted over 70 hours.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which had earlier claimed the attack, also issued a statement on Saturday night saying “all targets successfully achieved.” It said 16 fighters “sacrificed” themselves in the attacks.
Baloch separatists have been fighting the Pakistani state for decades, saying the central government unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
“Doors for dialogue (with militants) can’t be closed,” the Pakistani interior minister told reporters on Sunday. “But terrorists who took up arms against Pak army, Pakistan and attack our installations, they shouldn’t be forgiven.”
Ahmed also spoke about peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group that has fought for years to overthrow the government in Islamabad.
The government reached a cease-fire deal with the group last November, which the TTP called off a month later, accusing the government of breaching terms including a prisoner release agreement and the formation of negotiating committees. The TTP has since stepped up its attacks around the country.
When asked whether negotiations had been restarted with the TTP, the interior minister said: “I am not aware of talks with the TTP. I don’t want to comment on it.”
On Friday, six people, including two paramilitary soldiers, were injured after a bomb attack targeted a paramilitary Levies check post in Balochistan’s Chaman district bordering Afghanistan.
Last week, the army said insurgents killed 10 soldiers in an attack on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, the heaviest death toll for the army in the Balochistan insurgency in years.
