Rocket fired at NDMA chairman's helicopter in Balochistan

The NDMA chairman was in the area to monitor rescue work underway in the devastated region.

AWARAN: The helicopter of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Major General Muhammad Saeed Aleem was targeted with rockets while it was on its way to Mashkey, Balochistan for earthquake relief work, Express News reported on Thursday.

The NDMA chairman was in the area to monitor the rescue work underway in the devastated region. Major General Aleem remained unhurt in the attack.

"Two rockets were fired on the helicopter and the target was missed," a military official in the provincial capital Quetta told AFP.

The September 24 earthquake has so far claimed around 350 lives in Balochistan, with Mashkey being one of the worst hit areas.

A senior FC officer had said that most of the stricken places in Awaran are highly risky areas for relief workers and provincial functionaries as it is a hub of Baloch nationalist militants.

Mashkey – a sub-district of Awaran - has been under the militant command of nationalist guerrilla commander, Dr Allah Nazar who has been confronting the FC and Pakistan Army for a long time.