Nine policemen, including two station house officers (SHO), were martyred after terrorists stormed a police post in Balochistan’s Ziarat district, officials said on Tuesday.
Balochistan chief minister’s aide for media and political affairs, Shahid Rind, said that security forces had completed a clearance operation in the area, killing 15 Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists, the term used by the state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan.
Reports quoted sources that the armed men launched the attack on the police post late at night. Police exchanged fire with the terrorists for some time before they broke through and entered the premises.
Ziarat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abdul Qudoos Achakzai confirmed the casualties and said that the attack took place in the Mangi Dam area. Five policemen were still unaccounted for, he said, adding that reinforcements had been sent to the area as an operation to trace them continued.
Rind identified the martyrs as including the SHOs of Mangi and Kawas police stations, along with Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) In-charge Head Constable Saifullah. He said that their bodies had been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for legal formalities.
In a later statement, Rind confirmed that the joint clearance operation had concluded and that 15 Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists had been eliminated.
He said that the terrorists had paid a heavy price for disturbing peace in the province, warning that no safe haven would be allowed for militants and that every attack would draw a “full and decisive response”.
Rind added that Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) against terrorist networks would be intensified and that those challenging the writ of the state would be held accountable.
“There will be no compromise on Balochistan’s peace, stability and the protection of its people,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and paid tribute to the martyred police personnel. According to state broadcaster PTV, he vowed to avenge the blood of the martyrs.
Following the incident, residents blocked the Quetta-Ziarat highway and held a protest sit-in, which halted traffic on the main Quetta-Zhob route. Several vehicles, including passenger buses and trucks, were left stranded on either side of the highway as a result.
