Terror camps dismantled: Frontier Corps launches ‘operation’ in Awaran

FC says ‘many terrorists’ were killed in the operations.

QUETTA: One Frontier Corps (FC) official was killed and two wounded during a search operation against militants in the Awaran district of Balochistan on Tuesday. According to the Baloch National Movement (BNM), this was “a planned, full-fledged operation in which houses of residents were set on fire.”

A press release issued by the FC said that terrorists associated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) attacked an FC convoy near Mahi village on Monday and “martyred two FC personnel in the assault.” After this, the Frontier Corps obtained permission from the provincial government and took action by launching an operation in the area surrounding Mashkay. Consequently, many terrorists were killed and two of their camps were destroyed.

According to the Frontier Corps, BLF militants – under their leader Dr Allah Nazir’s explicit directives  – were egged on by anti-state elements who had been spreading terror in Khuzdar, Maskay and Makra by the way of bomb blasts, targeted killings, and kidnappings for ransom.

“FC [brought] these elements to justice and [the] people also cooperated with the FC while eliminating terrorists,” said the release.

However, BNM Central Chairman Khalil Baloch shared a different view. While speaking to the media, he said that the operation carried out in Awaran was a large scale one and even made use of helicopters.

“Security forces set the houses of people, and relatives of Dr. Allah Nazir, on fire,” he said.

Baloch appealed to human rights organizations to actively take a stance to halt the alleged “genocide” in the province.

Officials in Balochistan also confirmed that action was taken in some areas of Awaran by law enforcement agencies, but did not provide any details about losses or damages

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2012.