Latest news with #Balochistan
Arab News
7 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Pakistan military says seven militants killed in counter-terror operations in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Seven militants were killed in two separate counter-terror operations in southwestern Pakistan on June 2, the military's media wing said on Tuesday as Islamabad battles insurgency in its Balochistan province. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said five militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Machh town located in the Kachhi district on June 2. The same day, it said two other militants were killed in a separate IBO in Margand area located in Balochistan's Kalat District after security forces discovered a 'terrorist' hideout. The ISPR said weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the slain militants, who it alleged were actively involved in numerous militant activities. 'Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country,' the military's media wing said. 'And reaffirm the nation's unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of Indian-sponsored terrorism and their facilitators to justice.' Pakistan's security forces have been battling an insurgency in Balochistan, the country's most impoverished province, for years. Separatist militants have often targeted security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as 'outsiders,' by wresting control of highways and remote towns in the area. Pakistan has repeatedly rejected allegations by ethnic Baloch militant groups that it denies locals a share in Balochistan's mineral and gas resources. The government points to various health, educational and development schemes in Balochistan that it supports. Balochistan has seen a spike in militant violence in recent days. An IED blast killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district. Pakistan's military accuses India of funding and training ethnic Baloch separatist outfits, the most prominent of which is the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil. Delhi rejects the allegations and accuses Pakistan of stoking militancy in the region of Kashmir that India administers. In March, BLA fighters stormed a train in Balochistan and held hundreds of passengers hostage before the military launched an operation to rescue them.
Arab News
a day ago
- General
- Arab News
One killed, four injured in IED blast in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: One person was killed while four others were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday night, a police official confirmed. Police said the blast took place at Brewery Road near the western bypass in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive Balochistan. The official confirmed that a vehicle with two people in it exploded due to the blast, injuring passersby on the busy road. 'Unidentified individuals attached a magnetic IED to a private vehicle which exploded in Quetta city,' Mehmood Kharoti, the station house officer at Brewery Road, told Arab News. 'One civilian named Hussain Ali, a resident of Kalat city, was killed in the attack and four people including three passersby were injured,' he added. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatist groups involved in targeting law enforcers and state-backed tribal leaders in the province. Kharoti said police were investigating the possible motives behind the attack. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces who they see as 'outsiders.' The Pakistani government says it has launched several development schemes relating to infrastructure, health and education for some 15 million people of Balochistan, which is also home to a deep seaport being built by China, gold, copper and coal mines, and has a long coast on the Arabian Sea. The most prominent of these separatist militant groups in the province is the Baloch Liberation Army, which has carried out several attacks against law enforcers and political leaders considered close to the military leadership. Balochistan has seen a spike in militant violence in recent days. An IED blast killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district. In March, BLA fighters stormed a passenger train in Balochistan and held hostage hundreds of passengers before the military launched an operation to rescue them. Pakistan's government accuses India of arming and funding separatist militant groups against the state, an allegation that New Delhi has repeatedly denied. The BLA and other similar groups accuse Islamabad of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province's natural resources. Pakistan's government and military deny the allegations.
Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Pakistan police say four militants killed in operation in Punjab's Dera Ghazi Khan
ISLAMABAD: Police killed four militants in a successful operation in Dera Ghazi Khan district of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday. The Dera Ghazi Khan, or DG Khan, district borders the southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where Pakistan has been battling twin insurgencies. The operation was conducted in DG Khan's Kot Mubarak area and the law enforcers recovered a sizeable cache of heavy weapons and ammunition from the site of the encounter. 'The swift and effective action of the police teams thwarted the terrorists' nefarious plans,' the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported, citing officials. 'Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr. Usman Anwar commended the efforts of the Dera Ghazi Khan Police and said the Punjab police stand as a strong barrier against anti-state elements.' Pakistan is currently battling twin insurgencies: one led by religiously motivated groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), mainly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the other by ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups in Balochistan. Militants often seek refuge in border areas of neighboring provinces amid intensifying counter-insurgency operations in KP and Balochistan. The operation in DG Khan was launched on intelligence reports about militant movement near the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border, the APP news agency reported, citing a police spokesman. 'Some suspects fled using cover from bushes and mounds,' it said. 'A search-and-sweep operation is ongoing to track them down.'
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
PM urges trickle-down effect of development schemes in insurgency-hit Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need to ensure a trickle-down effect of his government's developmental initiatives in the southwestern Balochistan province, Sharif's office said on Sunday, amid a surge in militant attacks in the region. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces who they see as 'outsiders.' The Pakistani government says it has launched several development schemes relating to infrastructure, health and education for some 15 million people of Balochistan, which is also home to deep seaport being built by China, gold, copper and coal mines, and has a long coast on the Arabian Sea. Speaking to tribal elders during his visit to the provincial capital of Quetta, PM Sharif highlighted the series of developmental programs undertaken by his government for the prosperity of Balochistan and called on officials to ensure that their benefits reach the people of the southwestern Pakistani province. 'He praised the people of Balochistan for their historic role in safeguarding national unity and urged them to remain vigilant against foreign-backed subversion and sabotage orchestrated and sponsored by India,' Sharif's office said. 'The jirga [council of tribal elders] concluded with a unanimous pledge from tribal elders to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Pakistan and armed forces, reaffirming their commitment to the security, stability and development of Balochistan.' Pakistan and India often accuse each other of supporting militancy. Islamabad blames India of backing the separatist insurgency in Balochistan as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. India denies the allegations. Sharif announced that Balochistan will receive 25 percent share from the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), which funds infrastructure, energy, education and other long-term projects, in the upcoming budget. 'I think that PSDP will be of Rs1,000 billion [in the next budget],' he told the gathering. 'So, out of this [amount], a fund of approximately Rs250 billion is for Balochistan alone. That is, 25 percent of the total federal PSDP for Balochistan.' Addressing the challenge of militancy in the province, Sharif called for engagement at the grassroots level to ensure that militants find no social space. 'This was crucial for the success of counter terrorism efforts and for the long-term peace and stability,' he said. On the occasion, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who accompanied the prime minister to Balochistan, emphasized that Pakistan's army was fully alert and prepared to respond decisively to any threat. 'Peace in Balochistan is non-negotiable and that the future of Pakistan is directly linked to a stable, prosperous Balochistan,' he was quoted as saying by Sharif's office. Sharif also visited the military's Command and Staff College in Quetta and addressed student officers and faculty, reflecting his government's commitment to strengthening Pakistan's defense institutions amidst evolving regional and internal security dynamics. 'The prime minister highlighted the critical importance of professional excellence, operational readiness, and strategic foresight in the face of emerging and hybrid threats, especially in sensitive regions like Balochistan,' Sharif's office said.
Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Roadside blast kills two tribal leaders, injures seven in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: A blast triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district, located in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, a senior police official said. The roadside blast took place in Mangla, an area of the Hanna Urrak valley located some 35 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta, when a convoy of tribal leaders was passing through the area. 'Sardar Abdul Salam Bazai and Sardar Nafay Bazai, accompanied by their companions, were heading toward a mining site when a powerful explosion hit their vehicle,' Naveed Khan, Station House Officer (SHO) in the area, told Arab News. 'Both the tribal elders were killed on the spot,' he continued. 'Police have commenced an investigation into the IED blast, while the injured have been shifted to Quetta city.' No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Balochistan has witnessed a surge in separatist violence in recent months, including attacks on a passenger train and a school bus carrying children. The latest attack took place on the day Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was in Quetta and addressed a grand jirga of influential Baloch leaders alongside senior military officials. Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in militant violence in Balochistan on 'Indian proxies,' calling groups like the Baloch Liberation Army 'Fitna Al-Hind.' New Delhi denies any involvement in backing Baloch ethnic separatist groups in Pakistan's southwestern province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has witnessed an insurgency for decades. Speaking to Arab News, Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi, head of the Trauma Center in Quetta, confirmed that those injured in Saturday's attack were brought to the medical facility. 'Seven injured were brought to the center and are now in a stable condition,' he said.
