Militants no longer operating from Pakistan, says Nisar

Interior minister stresses greater coordination among LEAs after militant attack on police training centre

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday claimed the militant attack on a police training centre near Quetta was planned outside the country as terrorists are now operating from across the border.

"Militants are no longer operating from Pakistan," he said while addressing the media. He, however, said the attack needed to be thoroughly probed and officially established.

At least 61 security personnel were killed, and 165 others were injured as terrorists stormed the New Sariab Police Training College on the outskirts of the provincial capital late Monday night. The attack came a day after separatist gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two coast guards and a civilian and wounded a shopkeeper in Gwadar.

“We have to remain alert as this war [against terror] is going on and it will continue… Terrorists are now operating from across the border,” Nisar said while addressing a passing out parade of police officers at the National Police Academy in Islamabad. “Our enemy has been weakened but it has not been eliminated yet,” the interior minister said, adding the remnant elements will be defeated at all costs.



Nisar said the incidents of terror only occur as a result of flawed security arrangements, suggesting action should be taken against those responsible for the security of the police training centre in Quetta. Lauding the sacrifices of the LEAs, the minister said the world is recognising the sacrifices of the country in the war against terrorism which would be taken to a logical conclusion.

The minister also emphasised the need for greater coordination among the country’s law enforcement agencies to foil the designs of terrorists in wake of the attack. The police training college is situated on Sariab Road, one of the most sensitive areas of Quetta. Militants have been targeting security forces in the area for almost a decade, the training college has come under attack in 2006 and 2008.

Pakistan has been battling insurgency since shortly after it decided to ally with the US following its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Violence has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives in the northwest border areas as well as concerted efforts to block the militants’ sources of funding. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest.

Pakistan blames India for fuelling terrorism in Balochistan in an attempt to sabotage CPEC. A senior officer of Indian navy, Kulbushan Jadhav, was arrested from Balochistan earlier this year.