QUETTA: Pakistani forces have gunned down seven militants in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, the military and counterterrorism officials said on Saturday, nearly two weeks after deadly attacks in the restive region.
Baloch separatist militants hit several civil and military targets in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan on August 25, killing more than 50 people. Balochistan, which shares its border with Iran and Afghanistan, has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatist militants for the last two decades.
On the night of Sept. 6-7, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reported presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing. During the operation, two militants were killed.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area against security forces as well as the innocent civilians,” the ISPR said in a statement. “Sanitization operation is underway to neutralize any other terrorist present in the area.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated security personnel for the successful operation against militants in Kalat.
“Pakistan will continue the war against terrorism till its complete eradication from the country,” he said in a statement. “The entire nation, including me, is proud of the brave officers and soldiers of the security forces participating in the war against terrorism.”
Majority of Aug. 25 attacks in Balochistan were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of separatist groups operating in the province that is home to key China-led infrastructure projects, including a port and a gold-copper mine.
The separatists accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation, asserting it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Earlier in the day, the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) of the Balochistan police announced it had killed five militants of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a shootout in Surkhab area of the Pishin district on Friday night.
“Five terrorists belonging the banned TTP were killed during an exchange of fire between the CTD personnel and the terrorists,” a CTD official, who did not want to be named, told Arab News. “A cache of arms and explosives, including hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and a motorbike were seized from their compound.”
The official further said one of the militants belonged to Spin Boldak, a border town in Afghanistan close to Pakistan’s southwestern city of Chaman.
Islamabad has blamed a number of recent attacks in Pakistan’s western regions on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad.