At least 145 terrorists and 17 security personnel have been killed in coordinated counter-terrorism operations carried out over the past 40 hours across Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, Chief Minister
Sarfaraz Bugti said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Bugti said the bodies of all 145 terrorists were currently in the custody of authorities and that the identification process was underway. He described the operations as the deadliest in such a short span since security forces launched a full-scale campaign against terrorism in the province.
Bugti said 17 personnel from the law enforcement and security forces lost their lives in clashes with terrorists at multiple locations, including Quetta, Sibi, Gwadar, Noshki and Pasni. Earlier in the day, the Pakistan Army said at least 15 soldiers and 92 militants were killed in several counter-terrorism operations launched after ethnic Baloch militant groups carried out coordinated attacks across the province on Saturday.
According to the army, militants targeted areas including Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni in an attempt to disrupt peace. “Our valiant troops engaged the terrorists with precision and after prolonged, intense and daring clearance operations across Balochistan, killed 92 terrorists, including three suicide bombers,” the army said in a statement, adding that 18 civilians — including women, children, elderly people and labourers — were also killed in the attacks.
Bugti said terrorists used two women suicide bombers in attacks in Pasni and Quetta, and that intelligence agencies had earlier warned of a major strike targeting Quetta. He said militants attacked security forces, including police and Frontier Corps personnel, as well as civilians at 12 different locations on Saturday night. Two suicide bombers were killed in Quetta, he added.
The chief minister said security forces had been on high alert since Friday, when 41 terrorists were killed in Panjgur and Shaban areas. He described the killing of five women and three children in Gwadar over the past 40 hours as the most painful aspect of the violence and played video statements of victims’ relatives during the press conference.
Bugti said the terrorists aimed to seize installations of security and law enforcement agencies and claimed they were being directed by handlers, some of whom were based in Afghanistan. He ruled out talks with insurgent groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army, saying they were not political entities, but added that the government remained open to accepting those who repented and chose to surrender.
He also accused insurgent groups of using social media to spread misinformation, alleging they were attempting to “brainwash the youth and children”.
