Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau escaped unhurt after his security convoy came under fire while travelling from Kalat to Quetta, officials have said, with six security personnel injured in the attack.
Mastung Additional Deputy Commissioner has said that the convoy came under fire on Friday in Guru, a mountainous area of Khad Kocha about 22 kilometres from Mastung city, while Langove was travelling towards Quetta.
Police have said that Langau remained safe in the attack while the injured personnel were taken to Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Hospital in Quetta for treatment.
Khad Kocha has a strong presence of Baloch separatist militants and has remained under a curfew since July 23 following repeated attacks targeting transporters, travellers and security forces, according to officials.
Speaking in Quetta after the incident, Langau said the attack would not weaken the authorities’ resolve.
“I cannot be frightened by these firecrackers,” he said.
The attack took place amid heightened security across Balochistan as Pakistan marked its 80th Independence Day. Authorities had suspended mobile data services in several districts as part of security arrangements for the celebrations.
The incident follows an attack in Mastung about three weeks ago in which a sessions judge and his gunman were killed after unidentified assailants opened fire on their vehicle.
An additional sessions judge and another person were critically injured in that attack, an official said on July 23. District Police
Officer Allah Bakhsh Baloch said the judges were travelling from Quetta to the sessions court in Mastung when their vehicle came under attack in the Wali Khan area.
