QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen killed a judge and his security guard in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Mastung city on Thursday, a police official said, hours after authorities imposed a curfew in an area of the same district due to repeated militant attacks.
The attack took place in Paring Abad, an area in Mastung city, on Thursday morning when Justice Abdul Hakeem Kakar’s car was passing through. Kakar was traveling from the provincial capital of Quetta to Mastung district when the attack took place, Mastung Police Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Rauf said.
“Unidentified gunmen riding on motorbikes opened fire on the session judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar’s vehicle, killing him and his gunman on the spot,” Rauf told Arab News.
The police official said another additional session judge, Tariq Lashari, was injured in the attack and later shifted to Quetta for medical treatment.
“Police have launched a search operation in the area to hunt down the attackers,” Rauf added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The development takes place a day after Balochistan authorities imposed a curfew in Mastung district’s Khud Kocha area following three deadly attacks within a week there. The curfew was imposed on Wednesday hours after an attack on a passenger bus on the N-25 highway, underscoring growing security concerns in the district.
Three militant attacks in Khud Kocha within six days killed 10 civilians, prompting authorities to impose the curfew. Wednesday’s attack also took place in Khud Kocha, which is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Quetta, when armed men opened fire on a the bus while it was traveling from Quetta to the southern port city of Karachi.
“Three passengers, one belonging to Karachi and two from Killa Abdullah district, were killed in the attack,” Bahram Saleem, deputy commissioner of Mastung district, told Arab News on Wednesday.
“Three other passengers were injured who later shifted to the hospital.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Khud Kocha has witnessed violence since July 16, when five civilians were killed after gunmen targeted a security forces convoy in the area that day. On July 20, two women were killed in the restive area when gunmen opened fire on a family’s vehicle.
“Citizens in the area will not be allowed to leave their homes during the curfew,” Babar Yousafzai, an aide in the Balochistan Home Department, told Arab News after the curfew was imposed on Wednesday.
“In light of the law-and-order situation, the public must fully comply with the administration’s orders.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has long been the site of a separatist insurgency. Militant groups have targeted security forces, government installations and Chinese interests involved in infrastructure and mining projects. The province has also witnessed attacks claimed by Daesh’s regional affiliate.
Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday security forces had killed 10 militants in separate intelligence-based operations in Surab and Mastung districts over the previous 48 hours. The total number of militants killed is 139 since July 5, according to official data, when authorities launched a province-wide operation after a wave of attacks.
Separatist groups accuse the Pakistani state of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral resources while denying local communities a fair share of the benefits, allegations Islamabad rejects.
Pakistan has also repeatedly accused India of backing separatist militants in the province, a charge New Delhi denies.
