https://arab.news/zyaf7
- Senior provincial official says militants belonged to the banned Baloch Liberation Army
- Balochistan CM vows operations will continue until ‘complete elimination’ of militancy
QUETTA: Pakistani forces killed nine militants during intelligence-based operations in the southwestern Balochistan province, an official said on Saturday, adding that four police personnel from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) also lost their lives in an exchange of fire.
The operations were carried out in the Nohsar and Kuchlak areas near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, a province that has witnessed a long-running separatist insurgency targeting security forces, Chinese interests and state infrastructure.
“The terrorists belonged to the Baloch Liberation Army,” Babar Yousafzai, a provincial home department official, told Arab News, while confirming the number of casualties on both sides.
The BLA is a separatist group responsible for multiple attacks in the province, including suicide bombings targeting Pakistani security forces.
In a statement issued after the operations, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti praised the CTD and other law enforcement agencies.
“The killing of nine terrorists in the intelligence-based operation conducted on a tip-off is clear evidence of the professionalism, courage and commitment of the security institutions to protecting the public,” he said, adding that militants would not be allowed to succeed in their conspiracies to undermine peace and stability in the province.
Bugti also expressed sorrow over the deaths of the four CTD personnel, saying their sacrifices would “always be remembered.”
He reiterated that operations against militants would continue until the “complete elimination” of militancy in the province and vowed action against “anti-state elements.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, borders Afghanistan and Iran and is home to key mining projects and the Gwadar deep-water port, a centerpiece of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Separatist groups operating there have long accused the state of exploiting the province’s natural resources without adequately sharing benefits with local communities, an allegation denied by the government which says it is working on mega projects to improve people’s livelihood.