Nine suspected militants were killed in an operation carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Pishin, officials said on Friday, hours after four Frontier Constabulary (FC) men were martyred and three others sustained injuries in an explosion near a security force's vehicle in Quetta.
The CTD carried out a major counterterrorism operation in the Khanoi Baba area of Pishin after intelligence reports about the presence of the outlaws allegedly involved in violent and destabilising activities in Balochistan.
According to the officials, an intense exchange of fire ensued in which nine suspected militants were killed. The CTD also recovered a significant cache of arms and ammunition from the encounter site, including automatic weapons and explosives.
The dead were believed to be involved in multiple incidents that threatened public safety and security in Balochistan. The officials said that further investigations were under way to uncover the network behind the suspects.
Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti commended the CTD and law-enforcement personnel for their "swift and effective action", which he described as "essential" for maintaining peace in the province. "Our brave security forces are playing a vital role in securing Balochistan," the chief minister said.
"Those who try to spread fear and disrupt peace will not be spared. We are fully committed to eliminating such threats and ensuring a safer future for our people," he said, reiterating his resolve to support law-enforcement agencies in their operations to safeguard the province from violence.
Earlier in the day, the Quetta police confirmed that four FC men were martyred and three others sustained injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion near a security force's vehicle in the suburban Margate area of the provincial capital.
Naveed Akhtar, the station house officer (SHO) of the Hanna Urak police station, said that the Bomb Disposal Squad was targeted with IED. "As a result of the explosion, four FC personnel were martyred and three others were injured," he said.
The martyred were identified as Subedar Shahzad Amin, Naib Subedar Abbas, Sepoy Khalil and Sepoy Zahid. The injured, including Lance Naik Zafar, Lines Naik Farooq and Sepoy Khurram Saleem, were promptly shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
President Asif Zardari "condemned the Quetta blast and expressed condolences over the loss of life," according to a statement issued by the President's House. "The president pays tribute to martyred FC soldiers for their services in defending the country," the statement read.
President Zardari reaffirmed the nation's determination to stamp out terrorism from the country. "The entire nation salutes its martyrs and acknowledges their sacrifices," the statement quoted President Zardari as saying.
Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the incident. In a post on X, the interior ministry said that the minister had expressed "sympathies and sent his condolences to the families of the martyred FC soldiers," and prayed for the swift recovery of those injured.
"The FC personnel attained the great status of martyrdom," the post read. The minister termed the attack a "heinous conspiracy" by enemies seeking to "create instability in the country. "The sacrifices of FC soldiers for the establishment of peace in Balochistan will always be remembered," he said.
Elsewhere in the country, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on the reported presence of terrorists in the night between Wednesday and Thursday and killed six terrorists, the military said in a press release.
"During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and after an intense fire exchange, six khwarij were sent to hell, while four khawrij got injured," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, referring to terrorists, belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The media wing of the military stated that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area. It added that the security forces of Pakistan were determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.
Militant violence and counterterror operations in the country escalated in March, with the number of terrorist attacks crossing the 100 mark for the first time since November 2014, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
The think tank documented 105 militant attacks during the month, resulting in 228 fatalities, including 73 security personnel, 67 civilians and 88 militants and injuries to 258 individuals – 129 security personnel and an equal number of civilians.
(WITH INPUT FROM OUT RAWALPINDI CORRESPONDENT)
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