Balochistan clean-up: Bid to spoil Independence Day celebrations foiled

Commander among three militants killed in Kech; advocate, EDO killed in targeted attacks

QUETTA: Security forces on Tuesday foiled an attempt to sabotage Independence Day celebrations in Balochistan by recovering a huge cache of arms and explosives stashed in a cave in Seekhnam, the mountainous area of Barkhan.

Moreover, at least three suspected militants of a banned organisation, including a local ‘commander’, were killed in clashes with security forces in Kech district.

“The cave was built on Seekhnam, the mountainous area of Barkhan, where arms and explosives were kept to carry out terror attacks,” the spokesman said and added that no arrests have been made in the raid.

The ammunition included four anti-personnel mines, two anti-tank mines, nine RPC rockets, five remotely-controlled IEDs, 11 detonators, arms and rounds.

Also in Kech district, seven militants were also arrested and four sanctuaries were destroyed by security forces in Hoshab, a spokesman for Frontier Corps said, adding a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from their hideouts.

A local commander of the militants, who was identified as Akhtar Nadeem, was also killed in the gunbattle.

Meanwhile, unknown assailants killed a lawyer in a drive-by shooting incident in Quetta on Tuesday. Advocate Jahanzaib Alvi was sitting in his car when armed persons riding on a motorbike sprayed him with bullets at Faisal Town area of Brewary road.

Moreover, District Education Officer Awaran Muhammad Saleem Shahwani was killed by unknown armed men in the Mashkey area of Awaran district, Levies officials said on Tuesday.

Sources said unknown armed men barged into the house of the DEO Awaran between the nights of Monday and Tuesday and opened fire on him, injuring him seriously.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2016.