PM Lauds Security Forces for Successful Counter-Terror Operation in Balochistan

The Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has thanked law enforcement agencies for conducting a successful operations against the BLA groups in Balochistan’s Musa Khel region. Operation were carried out jointly by the Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary force and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in which three militants were killed and two arrested and other fled. The Prime Minister underlined that due to timely intervention another large scale sabotage had been averted in the region.

The Renewed Violence by Militants

This successful operation came in the backdrop of increasing tension in Balochistan where a recent blast targeted a vehicle carrying coal mine workers killing seven including children and police constable and injuring nearly half a dozen people including a police constable. The region has seen escalation in militant attacks with the latest occurrence on October 29, where 5 people were killed in a dam construction site in Panjgur district which the BLA has said it conducted.

The BLA has also claimed responsibility of two other killings in the Kech and Quetta districts demonstrating that local security remained at risk. Such cases point to rising acts of separatism in the region, which call for measures and counter-terrorism measures.

The Importance of Strategic Positioning and Continuing Issues

The province of Balochistan is significant for many reasons: it borders Iran and Afghanistan, and; serves as a host to many big projects under BRI including the development of a strategic port and possession of valuable minerals. The separatists especially the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have remained a thorn in the central government’s side, and allege that the central government is plundering the provinces’ natural resources.

The Pakistani authorities continue to stand for the regional development, firmly denying any use of resources’ exploitation. Local government claims to support development agenda to address the current situation in the province while security forces persist on trying to curb militancy in the area.