Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing a high-level meeting in Quetta to discuss the security situation in Balochistan after multiple major terrorist incidents in the province in recent days.
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir was also present at the meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan to counter terrorism.
Addressing the meeting, PM Shehbaz said they had gathered in Balochistan after “very serious incidents took place in the past four days”, resulting in the martyrdom of policemen, soldiers and civilians.
Noting that 54 terrorists were killed while responding to those attacks and in subsequent operations, he affirmed, “This war [against terrorism] will continue until the last fasaadi terrorist in Pakistan is eliminated.”
“The brave soldiers and officers of the armed forces rendered sacrifices and sacrificed their blood, along with law enforcement agencies and innocent civilians,” he noted.
The prime minister affirmed that the “entire nation stands firmly” with the armed forces and LEAs, expressing hope that the sacrifices will ultimately pay off by the eradication of terrorism.
Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti and heads of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were also in attendance at the meeting, the government’s official X account said.
The prime minister arrived in Quetta earlier in the day for a brief visit to chair the meeting regarding the law and order situation.
Mandokhail, CM Bugti and senior civil and military officials welcomed PM Shehbaz upon his arrival, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and PM’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah are accompanying the premier on the visit.
PM Shehbaz’s visit comes a day after the military revealed that at least 42 people — the majority of whom were security and law enforcement personnel — have lost their lives in terrorist attacks and subsequent operations in Balochistan since July 5.
Addressing a press briefing in Rawalpindi, the military’s spokesperson said that there were “three major terrorist incidents” in recent days — an armed attack on the outskirts of Quetta on July 5, an assault on a police post in Ziarat on July 6, and an ambush of an army convoy in Bela on Wednesday.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warned terrorists and their facilitators to expect no “rationality and proportionality” as security forces continue to hunt down the perpetrators of the attacks.
He also pointed the finger squarely at India and Afghanistan for being behind the attacks, saying that it was the handiwork of India and “those forces with India who cannot tolerate Pakistan’s respect, prosperity and stability”.
