QUETTA: At least two police personnel, including a woman constable, were killed and three others sustained injuries in a shootout with militants in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a senior police official said on Monday.
This is the first incident of its kind in the militancy-hit region in which the woman constable was targeted during a search in Bajoi, a remote mountainous town located some 35 kilometers from Balochistan’s Khuzdar city, according to Khuzdar Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abdul Qudus.
Police were searching homes after a robbery complaint, when militants holed up in the remote area opened fire on them. The woman police constable was identified as Malik Naz, while the other deceased was Head Constable Sami Ullah.
“Both the slain constables were local residents of Khuzdar district,” Qudus told Arab News. “The police team had to search homes hence the lady constable was with them.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack in the province, which has been the site of a long-running insurgency by the ethnic Baloch separatist groups that has intensified in recent years.
“The area is very remote and police along with other Law Enforcement Agencies have started a search operation to arrest the attackers,” the Khuzdar ASP said.
Separately, Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Langove lauded the deceased police personnel for their bravery, promising to bring the attackers to justice.
“The sacrifices of police soldiers in the fight against terrorism are a matter of pride for the nation,” Langove said in a statement. “Terrorists involved in targeting police soldiers will not be forgiven under any circumstances.”
