Seven soldiers martyred in Harnai attack

BALOCHISTAN:

Seven soldiers of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) laid down their lives during an intense exchange of fire that ensued when heavily armed terrorists attacked their check-post located in the Sharig area of Harnai district in Balochistan.

According to Reuters, the terrorists opened fire on the checkpost from nearby hilltops using rockets and then automatic gunfire in the late hours of Saturday.

 

“During intense exchange of fire, seven brave soldiers embraced shahadat [martyrdom] while repulsing the raiding terrorists,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement.

The military’s media wing said after the attack, the security force launched a large scale search and clearance operation. "[The area] has been cordoned off; escape routes have been blocked."

 

The military vowed that “such cowardly acts by inimical elements backed by anti-state forces” will not be allowed to sabotage hard earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan. “Security forces are determined to thwart their nefarious designs at all costs,” it added.

The soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Gulzar from Mianwali; Sepoy Faisal from Hafizabad; Sepoy Abdul Wakeel from Pishin; Sepoy Sher Zaman from Kohat; Sepoy Jamal from Dera Bugti; Abdul Rauf from DG Khan and Faqeer Muhammad from Muzafargarh.

 

President Dr Arif Alvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed his deep sorrow over the death of the soldiers.  Prime Minister Imran Khan also expressed his grief over the loss. “Our nation stands with our courageous soldiers who face attacks from Indian backed terrorists,” he wrote on Twitter.

CPEC Authority Chairman Lt Gen (redt) Asim Saleem Bajwa also condemned the “cowardly attack”.

“Their [martyred soldiers] supreme sacrifice for lasting peace will be remembered forever. These cowardly terrorists despite their backers won’t find space to hide,” Bajwa, who last served as commander southern command, said in a Twitter post.

The Harnai attack took place almost a week after the security forces killed 10 terrorists in Awaran district of Balochistan during an "intelligence-based" raid on an insurgent location.

 

In October, seven soldiers and seven security guards were killed by insurgents in the coastal Ormara district of Balochistan as they escorted a convoy of oil and gas workers. That attack was claimed by an umbrella organization of Baloch militant groups.

A day ago, on December 26, an anti-terrorism court issued lifelong arrest warrants for 15 members of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) accused in a case pertaining to the 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate after declaring them absconders.

During the hearing at the Karachi Central Jail, the court directed the relevant authorities to seize all movable and immovable properties of the accused and put their sketches on display.

The accused who are on the run and declared absconders include Marri, Alidad Buledi, Commander Sharif, Rashid Hussain and Sameer, among others.

On December 24, a Pakistan Army soldier embraced martyrdom when terrorists targeted security forces convoy at night, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan district, according to ISPR.

The military's media wing said that 34-year-old Naik Yaseen, a resident of Malakand, was martyred while seven others sustained injuries during the attack in North Waziristan's Mirali area.

"Security forces responded promptly. In intense exchange of fire, two terrorists were killed while 10 got injured," the ISPR added.