ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani soldier was killed while 14 militants planning to attack a nearby police station and banks in southwestern Pakistan were gunned down on Tuesday, the Pakistan Army said in a statement, vowing to eliminate militancy in the country.
The incident took place in the Naal area of district Basima in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Jun. 8, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The army’s media wing described the militants as “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term the military frequently uses for separatist Baloch militant groups in the province. The ISPR said security forces launched an intelligence-based operation in the area in which 14 militants were killed.
“The terrorists were reportedly planning to attack a nearby police station and banks in the area,” the ISPR said.
The army said four vehicles being used by the militants and an improvised explosive devices were destroyed on the spot.
However, the ISPR said a Pakistani soldier died as both sides traded fire.
“One brave son of soil, Lance Havildar Muhammad Abbass, having fought gallantly paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” the army said.
The army said it was carrying out sanitization operations in the area to locate any other “Indian-sponsored terrorists.”
Pakistan accuses India of supporting separatist militant outfits in Balochistan, a charge that New Delhi rejects. Pakistan also accuses Afghanistan of harboring these militant groups who launch attacks on its soil. Afghanistan also rejects these accusations.
Balochistan, a mineral-rich province that is often cited as Pakistan’s most backward one by several analysts, has been the site of a low-level insurgency for decades.
Ethnic Baloch militants accuse the state of denying locals a share in Balochistan’s mineral resources. Islamabad denies the allegations and vows to eliminate militants from the province.
