By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged federal backing for Balochistan’s counter-terrorism push on Tuesday, a day after horrific attacks across the province claimed at least 50 lives, including 14 security personnel, and highlighted the growing threat from separatist militants.
“My aim to visit is to let you all and the people of Balochistan know that the federal interior minister is standing behind the Balochistan chief minister,” Naqvi told a news conference in Quetta, flanked by Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti. “Whatever decision he (Bugti) makes, we will support him.”
Dozens of militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) launched numerous attacks on Sunday midnight across Balochistan, targeting security personnel and civilians, particularly those from Punjab.
At least 50 people, including 14 security men, lost their lives as militants went on a rampage across the province, storming police stations, blowing up railway tracks, and setting fire to almost three dozen vehicles.
In Musakhail, militants killed 23 people after checking their ID documents. In Khadkocha, they blocked a highway, stormed a police station, and held Levies officials hostage. In Kalat, attacks on a Levies station, two hotels, and a tribal elder’s residence left 11 dead and nine injured.
Balochistan is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold, and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province and is building a port in the seaside city of Gwadar.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, is home to the ethnic Baloch minority, who claim discrimination and exploitation by the central government, fueling a separatist insurgency demanding independence. Islamic militants also operate in the province.
The outlawed BLA, designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and the US, is the primary group behind the attacks. The BLA seeks a sovereign state encompassing territories in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Naqvi and Bugti vowed to eliminate terrorism in the province. “Everyone — [including] the president, prime minister, and the army chief — is concerned for Balochistan and is working towards a solution,” Naqvi said. “While some actions may be apparent to you, some are under way at the backend, which the chief minister himself is leading.”
Naqvi asserted, “Such incidents are absolutely intolerable. Together, we will close the door to these incidents. Those thinking that they can relay their message or scare us through these incidents will soon receive a ‘good message’.”
“We have to pursue those who are planning these [attacks], perpetrating this and forming this entire strategy. You will see in the coming days; God-willingly, they all (terrorists) will be dealt with.”
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the need to “move forward with a resolute decision” to tackle terrorism. “We have to move forward with a resolute decision. There is no room for any kind of weakness.”
“No degree of condemnation is enough for the recent incidents that took place in Balochistan yesterday,” the prime minister told the federal cabinet. “Rather than discussing that people from a certain area of Pakistan were offloaded from buses and martyred, I think that it would be more appropriate and effective for the country’s well-being if I say that terrorists martyred Pakistanis.”
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