News Desk |
On Wednesday morning, three suicide bombers were gunned down in a joint-retaliation by the FC and the Police Quick Response Force, after a terrorist attack in the Police Lines area of Loralai, Balochistan.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) notified, “Three suicide bombers attempted to stage an attack on the Police in Loralai. The police officials conducted a thorough search of the suicide bombers at the entry gate. One suicide attacker was gunned down by the police at the entry gate, however, two managed to enter the Police Line, and were gunned down immediately.”
#Police Line #Loralai again came under the gun attack , as per initial at least #Three terrorists were killed, while one Balochistan Levies Men martyred & another injured, clearance operation of the compounds is underway. @NKMalazai @ZehriiiBaloch @Natsecjeff pic.twitter.com/3WZXS8VUs3
— 🦉🦉 (@Info_Balochistn) June 26, 2019
One suicide attacker was gunned down at the main gate of the Police Lines compound, while the other two managed to enter the premises. Of these two attackers, one blew himself up, and the other was gunned down by the security forces.
Police line in #Loralai are under attack, initial report state that 2 police died in a exchange of firing and 3 terrorist killed. #Balochistan pic.twitter.com/I2Sj5DHuge
— Jaffar Khan kakar (@Jaffar_Journo) June 26, 2019
The ISPR press release informed that a police official, Head Constable Allah Nawaz, was martyred during the retaliatory attack, while two other police constables sustained injuries.
A policeman named Allah Nawaz embraced martyrdom in #terrorist attack on #LoralaiPoliceLine in Pakistan's #Balochistan province pic.twitter.com/PPMnWKqOPA
— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) June 26, 2019
The press release issued by the ISPR added, “FC and the Quick Response Force immediately arrived on the attack site, and the area was cordoned off. One suicide attacker exploded himself during the exchange of fire, and the remaining two were gunned down by the security personnel. Police Head Constable Allah Nawaz was martyred during the exchange of fire.”
https://twitter.com/madni31/status/1143816372767592448
The Police Line compound has now been cleared off by the security personnel. Media reports speculate that three civilians also sustained injury during the suicide attack, which occurred early in the morning as the police officials were sitting down for their exams.
The civilians injured during the confrontation with terrorists include Muhammad Idris, Sajjad Ahmed, Bibi Fatima and Muhammad Alam.
The Frontier Corps training center, located in Loralai cantonment, was targeted by terrorists, resulting in the death of four terrorists, while four security officials embraced martyrdom.
The attack was condemned by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who also offered condolences for the martyrdom of Police Constable Allah Nawaz.
CM Jam Kamal Khan said, “The police force fought bravely against the terrorists. The swift and effective action taken by the police today shows that our security agencies are well prepared.”
Terrorism in Balochistan
Balochistan has been gripped with a rise in terror incidents and suicide attacks since the beginning of this year. On the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, a terrorist attack in Balochistan’s Hernai region claimed the lives of two Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers, 23-year old Yar Muhammad from Sibi district and 19-year old Mehtab Khan from Lakki Marwat.
Read more: 60 killed in twin suicide attacks as Militants storm police training…
Earlier in May, three terrorists were killed during an attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar, resulting in the death of four hotel employees and a soldier of the Pakistan Navy. This attack was staged in a bid to take foreign guests as hostages, and create an atmosphere of terror and fear in the province.
The region of Loralai is no stranger to terror attacks. Earlier on 30th January, the Police Recruitment Centre was attacked by terrorists, 9 policemen were martyred while 21 people sustained injuries.
On 1st January, the Frontier Corps training center, located in Loralai cantonment, was targeted by terrorists, resulting in the death of four terrorists, while four security officials embraced martyrdom.
Loralai is interjection connecting Punjab, KP, and Afghanistan and Iran via Quetta. So, they come from various directions and find soft targets there.
Analysts and scholars focused on extremism attribute this recent surge of terror attacks across Balochistan to Indian-affiliated terror groups.
#Loralai terrorists attack: kudos 2 law enforcement jawans 2 eliminate terrorists & averted big tragedy & loss of lives.
Condolences w/ family of one martyr police jawan. Allah bless his soul.
Terrorism focuses on soft targets as is the strategy of #India affiliated groups
— Jan Achakzai / جان اچکزئی (@Jan_Achakzai) June 26, 2019
Balochistan: Battlefield for New Delhi
Global Village Space reached to Mr. Jan Achakzai, Chairman of Centre for Geo-Politics and Balochistan, to understand the network of terror financers, aiders and abettors in the province.
Achakzai, who holds vast expertise in Balochistan’s multi-ethnic insurgency, explained, “Balochistan is porous and easily penetrated through Afghanistan and Iran, though Afghan border is being fenced. It is still easy to come to Balochistan as handlers of NDS/RAW are operating across Afghan border who plan, finance, recruit, train and provide technical prowess to foot soldiers.”
He added, “Then, the sleeper cells in Balochistan help with logistics, shelter and surveillance of the target to pull off these attack through suicide bombers.”
Read more: ‘Baluchistan Post’ fabricates story of attack on FC Personnel
Explaining the coordination between various foreign-funded militant groups, Achakzai noted, “Mostly, these cells work in coordination with various militant groups. Loralai is interjection connecting Punjab, KP, and Afghanistan and Iran via Quetta. So, they come from various directions and find soft targets there.”
The Baloch insurgency expert added, “The area is still being hardened by law enforcement agencies (LEAs) after the bomber attacked and with the completion of Afghan border fence in near future, the frequency of these attacks likely to be reduced to 90 percent in Pashtun areas of Balochistan.”
Jan Achakzai stressed that border fencing with Iran and hardening of interjections, including Quetta, Khuzdar, Bella and Awaran etc. will also “substantially reduce attacks in Baloch-dominated districts of Southern Balochistan.”
Achakzai concluded, “But remember the bigger picture: there is no chance of reducing these attacks to zero as CPEC is being subverted by India as a flashpoint project of BRI. Balochistan is the battlefield for Delhi to balance China for its historic infrastructure project (BRI) across 60 countries.”