Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday reached Quetta on a day-long visit, where he will meet with injured security personnel from the recent operation in Kalat, and attend a briefing on peace and security.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, during his visit, Sharif will meet with soldiers who were wounded while bravely fighting against terrorists in Kalat.
He will also meet with provincial leadership to receive a detailed briefing on the current security situation in the region.
Accompanying the Prime Minister on this visit are Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Minister for Energy Owais Laghari.
Previously, in a series of counterterrorism operations in Balochistan, security forces and law enforcement agencies have killed 23 terrorists during the past 24 hours, foiling terrorist attempts to disrupt the peace in the region. Eighteen Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the operations, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The statement said that on the night of January 31 to February 1, terrorists attempted to establish roadblocks in the Mangocher area of Kalat District. The terrorist carried out an attack "on behest of inimical and hostile forces," that was "aimed at disrupting the peaceful environment of Balochistan by targeting mainly the innocent civilians."
Acting swiftly, security forces mobilised and engaged the militants, killing twelve of them and preventing further violence.
The media wing of the Pakistani military confirmed that follow-up operations were launched across Balochistan province, including in Harnai District, where eleven more militants were killed.
Several terrorist hideouts were also dismantled in these actions.
The ongoing sanitisation operations aim to bring the perpetrators and their facilitators to justice, the ISPR said.
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