145 terrorists eliminated in Balochistan as Bugti pledges retaliation

Security forces were hunting on Sunday for the terrorists behind a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan, with the government vowing to retaliate after more than 190 people, including 145 terrorists, were killed in two days.

Around a dozen sites remained sealed off, with troops combing the area a day after terrorists stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations, killing at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel, according to Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti.

At least 145 terrorists were also killed, he added, while an official told AFP that a deputy district commissioner had been abducted.

That figure includes more than 40 terrorists that security forces said were killed on Friday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the attacks were carried out in several districts, including Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar, and Pasni, to disrupt peace and development in the province.

According to the ISPR, terrorists targeted civilians in Gwadar and Kharan districts, killing 18 people, including women, children, elderly individuals, and labourers.

Mobile internet service across the province has been jammed for more than 24 hours, while road traffic is disrupted and train services suspended.

After being rocked by explosions, typically bustling Quetta lay quiet on Sunday, with major roads and businesses deserted, and people staying indoors out of fear.

Shattered metal fragments and mangled vehicles litter some roads.

“Anyone who leaves home has no certainty of returning safe and sound. There is constant fear over whether they will come back unharmed,” Hamdullah, a 39-year-old shopkeeper who goes by one name, told AFP in Quetta.

The chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, told a press conference in Quetta that all the districts under attack were cleared on Sunday.

“We are chasing them, we will not let them go so easily,” he said.

“Our blood is not that cheap. We will chase them until their hideouts.”

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the province’s most active terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.

The group, which the United States has also designated a terrorist organisation, said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who flew to Quetta late Saturday to join funerals, said that the attackers were supported by India.

“We will not spare a single terrorist involved in these incidents,” he said.

In a press conference on Sunday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif likewise claimed the attackers enjoyed links to India and pledged to “completely eliminate these terrorists”.

India denied any involvement.

‘Broad daylight’

Pakistan has been battling a Baloch terrorist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

Saturday’s attacks came a day after the military said it killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.

The insurgents released a video showing group leader Bashir Zaib leading armed units on motorcycles during the attack.

Another clip claimed to show the abducted senior official from Nushki district.

In another district, terrorists freed at least 30 inmates from a district jail, while seizing firearms and ammunition. They also ransacked a police station and took ammunition with them.

“It was one of the most audacious attacks in the region in recent years, as unlike other attacks, it took place in broad daylight,” Abdul Basit at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore told AFP.

“It is alarming that terrorists, with coordinated manpower and strategic acumen, have now reached the provincial capital,” he added.

Several of the BLA’s videos featured women insurgents, while Defence Minister Asif said at least one of the suicide bombers was a young woman.

“They continue to showcase women strategically in high-visibility attacks,” Basit said.

The BLA has intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms.

Last year, the terrorists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a deadly two-day siege.