Tag: Balochistan

A 55-year-old school worker in Balochistan has successfully completed his matriculation exams, achieving a personal goal he had deferred for many years. 

Faiz-ul-Haq, a peon at the Government Boys High School in Nauabad, Pishin, scored 600 marks and achieved a second division grade. His results were announced this week. 

Faiz had to abandon his education at an early age owing to financial constraints. He revealed that he needed to find work to support his family, which made it difficult to continue his studies at the time. 

His motivation to resume his education came from the continuous support of the teachers and staff at his workplace. He acknowledged their role in helping him remain focused and driven while studying for the exams. 

“I always dreamed of studying, but I had to prioritise providing for my family. Now, with my teachers’ backing, I’ve accomplished this goal,” he expressed during an interview.

The school staff commemorated his accomplishment with a small gathering, where teachers and colleagues adorned him with flowers.

Three police officials have been martyred, and at least 16 others have been wounded on Tuesday morning in a blast targeting a vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary (FC) in Balochistan’s Mastung district. 

In a statement, spokesperson of the Balochistan government Shahid Rind stated that a vehicle carrying policemen was targeted with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) when they were returning from Kalat.

“Three jawaan (personnel) of the Balochistan Constabulary were martyred in the blast,” the spokesperson confirmed, adding that 16 others were injured due to the blast, out of whom two were in a serious condition.

Rind stated that all injured cops have been shifted to a hospital, while those seriously injured were being taken to Quetta, about 50 kilometres away from Mastung. He added that an investigation report on the incident has been sought.

The FC officials were deployed at a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP-M), the spokesperson said.

Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Younas Magsi, however, put the number of injured people at 18. 

Magsi said that the policemen were stationed as part of additional deployment with Levies in Mastung’s Kund Mas area, adding that more than 40 cops were returning from duty today when the police vehicle carrying them was targeted.

“On a daily basis, our policemen used to return to Mastung Police Lines after performing their duties,” the DSP said.

Chief Minister (CM) Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the blast, directing Health Minister Bakht Kakar to ensure that the injured were provided with the best medical treatment. “No negligence will be tolerated in the treatment of the injured,” Bugti said.

He affirmed that the provincial government stood with the martyrs. “The elements involved in the incident do not deserve any concession,” he asserted.

The incident happened a day after the FC checkpoint in the Galangoor area of Noshki came under attack. During the gun battle, an FC soldier embraced martyrdom.

As per media reports, armed militants used automatic weapons to attack the Levies post. However, the Levies personnel deployed at the post swiftly took strategic positions on the nearby mountain and returned fire.

“Due to their [security personnel’s] advantageous position, the terrorists couldn’t reach them, and the attack was effectively foiled,” Dawn News quoted a senior official of the Balochistan Levies as saying. 

The FC troops deployed at the post returned fire, and in the ensuing exchange of fire, two terrorists were killed, a senior official of the Noshki administration said.

Journalists and social media activists have slammed  YouTuber and former TV host Aftab Iqbal for glorifying the terrorists who had hijacked the Jaffar Express on Tuesday in Balochistan’s Bolan district.

Speaking on his YouTuber channel on Wednesday, the former TV host, while using the term “neutralise” for the brave Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers, said, “They (militants) were aware that FC personnel were at the top, surveilling the entire area. The way they (FC soldiers) were skillfully neutralised was beyond anyone’s imagination.”

Iqbal further claimed that the location that the terrorists chose for hijacking the train was an “ideal site”. He said, “Skillfully, tunnel No. 8 was chosen so that the train’s front and rear both remained inside the tunnel when it stopped. The explosion used to stop the train was also executed with exceptional expertise.”

He described the terrorist attack on the train as a “well-planned military operation” rather than an act of terror by an extremist group, adding, “The incident was not done by some small separatist, militant, or extremist group; there is proper military planning and strategy behind it.”

Journalists and activists hit out at Iqbal after clips from his vlog went viral. Prominent journalist and political talk show host Muneeb Farooq took to X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Wow, Aftab Sahib, wow. Brilliant selection of words ‘neutralize’, ‘exceptional skill’—such glorification of the BLA animals. The mental state you are in makes a person act this way only when they are completely invested in a particular agenda or ideology. Thank God that your so-called ‘highly skilled’ BLA filth was eliminated like stray dogs yesterday by the brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army and FC.”

In a post on X, while sharing the short clip of Aftab Iqbal, journalist Waseem Abbasi wrote in the caption, “How delightfully Aftab Iqbal is praising the terrorists… Even the martyrdom of FC personnel is being referred to as ‘neutralised.’… A truly shameful act.”

A social media activist opined, “So-called journalists like Aftab Iqbal are not only betraying the blood of our martyrs by portraying… terrorists as heroes but are also promoting the enemy’s narrative… They are spewing venom against Pakistan. The time has come to hold these digital terrorists accountable and expose their sinister agendas.”

Speaking to a private media channel on Wednesday night, Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry announced the completion of the two-day-long operation against the terrorists.

He said that security forces eliminated all 33 Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists who had hijacked the Jaffar Express, which was carrying more than 400 passengers — who were taken hostage on Tuesday noon.

“Whoever did this will be hunted down and brought to justice,” said Lt Gen Chaudhry, adding that the suicide bombers using hostages as human shields and were taken out by snipers.

He revealed that the terrorists martyred 21 passengers before the clearance operation had commenced. Furthermore, four FC personnel were also martyred during the attack in the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district.

The rescue operation for the Jaffar Express is underway, with security forces successfully rescuing around 155 hostages and eliminating at least 27 terrorists who had hijacked the train in Balochistan’s Bolan district on Tuesday.

An unknown number of terrorists bombed the railway track before storming the train near the Bolan Pass, opening fire on the locomotive and injuring the driver. The train was hijacked when it stopped just before a tunnel in a remote, mountainous region.

The train, carrying over 400 passengers in nine bogies, was en route from Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) when it came under attack. Among the hostages were a number of security personnel, a leading English newspaper reported.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they had taken a significant number of people hostage.

The hijacking was an unprecedented event, as terrorists had never previously attempted to seize an entire train along with its passengers.

According to reports, the security forces’ operation forced the militants to split into small groups. Meanwhile, 17 injured passengers were shifted to a nearby hospital for urgent medical treatment.

Media sources claimed that the attackers were using satellite phones to communicate with international handlers, including a mastermind in Afghanistan. They were also using women and children as human shields, forcing security forces to exercise extreme caution during the operation.

Speaking to a private media outlet later in the day, Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Talal Chaudhry claimed that the assailants had taken some passengers to a nearby mountainous area.

“They [terrorists] are using women and children as human shields, which is why security forces are proceeding with caution,” he said.

The minister dismissed claims that the attackers had voluntarily released women and children, clarifying that the hostages were rescued through the efforts of security forces.

Chaudhry urged the international community to stand with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. “There is concrete evidence that these terrorists receive support from Afghanistan,” he said, adding that Afghan drug money was funding them.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express and praised the security forces for their “effective action” in rescuing passengers.

“Attacks on innocent citizens and passengers are inhumane and heinous acts. Those who attack passengers are against Balochistan and its traditions.” Zardari said in a statement from the Presidency.

“The Baloch nation rejects those who attack and take hostages innocent passengers, elders and children. No religion or society allows such heinous acts,” he added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, stating that targeting innocent passengers during the holy month of Ramzan was proof that the terrorists had no connection to Islam, Pakistan, or Balochistan.

Asma, who was allegedly kidnapped from Khuzdar, Balochistan, has given a statement stating that she went with the alleged kidnapper Zahoor Ahmed of her own free will. The claim comes amid Balochistan government’s raids to recover Asma, while the Chief Minister said that a suspect involved in the incident had been arrested.

The kidnapping took place in Shehzad City, a posh area adjacent to the N-25 highway in Khuzdar, on Thursday night.

According to police sources, more than a dozen armed men entered Inayatullah Jatak’s residence on January 6, assaulted family members, and forcibly took Inayatullah’s daughter Asma with them.

After the incident, her relatives closed the N-25 highway for traffic at two places, Jhalawan Sabzi Mandi and Zero Point area, and staged a sit-in.

Khuzdar police held talks with the protesters several times under the leadership of SSP Javed Zehri, but these ended in vain.

This was followed by the spokesperson of the Balochistan government, Shahid Rind, stating that the police and Levies are conducting operations to recover Asma in Khuzdar. A suspicious person had been detained in Anjira after a raid.

A case was also registered against the main suspect Zahoor Ahmed and his accomplices under sections 365, 354, and 397 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the kidnapped woman’s brother, Abdul Hafeez Jatak. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to immediately arrest the perpetrators and ensure the safe recovery of the kidnapped woman.

Shahid Rind said that the Balochistan government is taking all possible steps to protect the lives and property of the citizens and that no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands. On the instructions of the Chief Minister of Balochistan, full cooperation is being provided to the police and Levies so that the accused are arrested soon and the kidnapped woman can be recovered.

Meanwhile, a joint video of Asma Baloch and Zahoor Ahmed Jamalzai has surfaced, in which Asma Baloch, speaking in Brahui language, claims that she was not kidnapped but went with Zahoor of her own consent. Zahoor also takes the same stance.

According to Zahoor, propaganda is being used against him in the media.

In response to the video, the sister of the alleged abductee also released a video in which she rejected Zahoor’s statement and criticised the government and the administration.

Asma’s sister said in the video statement: “As you know, a video of my sister was released on social media by her kidnappers. I and the Baloch nation completely reject [the claims]. There is no doubt that this statement was made forcibly under the influence of the kidnappers. They are trying to blackmail us in vain so that we withdraw from our peaceful protest. Moreover, they are trying to change public opinion, which is in our favour.”

She further said, “After the release of this video, the administration and the government cannot claim that it is not possible to trace the criminals. The account or number from which this video was first shared can easily lead to the criminals. If, despite the release of this video, the government fails to arrest the criminals and rescue my sister, then I will consider that the administration is deliberately leaving the criminals free.”

Asma’s sister asserted that, “Until my sister is released and the criminals are severely punished, our protest will continue. We will intensify and expand our protest.”