Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Balochistan were a “wicked scheme” devised by militants, as he visited the province to assess the security situation there.
In the latest flare-up of violence, dozens of militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — a separatist outfit — launched numerous attacks on Sunday midnight across Balochistan, targeting security personnel as well as civilians.
At least 50 people, including 14 security men, lost their lives as militants went on a rampage across the province, storming police stations, blowing up railway tracks, and setting fire to almost three dozen vehicles. In response, security forces neutralised 21 militants.
Among those killed were 23 people in Musakhail, mostly labourers from Punjab, who were offloaded from trucks and vans and shot dead after an identity check.
After his arrival in Quetta earlier today, PM Shehbaz chaired a high-level meeting of the National Action Plan’s provincial apex committee.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal as well as other top government and security officials.
“Terrorist organisations and the khawarij, who are Pakistan’s enemies, and infiltrators from within concocted this impure scheme, as a result of which Pakistanis were martyred,” the premier told the committee.
“There has been a wave of great concern among the people across Pakistan due to the recent heartrending incident that occurred in Balochistan,” PM Shehbaz said.
“Everyone is aggrieved on this incident,” the prime minister noted.
“However, I think that at the moment, we have to decide that we must fully eradicate terrorism from Balochistan through our collective vision, power, and unwavering determination,” the premier asserted.
Highlighting that the province was “extremely important and beautiful”, PM Shehbaz stressed the need to remove “all obstacles from its path to progress”.
Recalling that those who lost their lives included law enforcement agencies’ officers and sepoys, jawaans (personnel) of the Levies and Frontier Constabulary, as well as civilians“, Shehbaz asserted that their sacrifices would not go to waste.
The prime minister expressed the resolve to eradicate terrorism under the leadership of Gen Munir and CM Bugti, reaffirming the federal government’s full support to that extent.
He vowed to root out “terrorism that has surged again since 2018” from not just Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but from the entire country.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, as well as other officials, were also accompanying PM Shehbaz.
Upon arrival at Quetta Airport, the premier was received by CM Bugti, Balochistan Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir, and newly-appointed provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari.
Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Provincial Minister for Communication and Works Abdul Rehman Khetran, and other senior government officials were also present to welcome him.
Naqvi has vowed his full support for the Balochistan government in combating terrorism when he visited the province on Tuesday.
While PM Shehbaz on Tuesday asserted that there was “no room for any weakness”, President Asif Ali Zardari had ordered effective measures to ensure the “complete elimination” of terrorism.
