88 terrorists killed in a security campaign in Pakistani Balochistan
Pakistani security forces have killed at least 88 militants in a major anti-insurgency operation in the restive Balochistan province since July 5, the Islamabad government said on Saturday.Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that nine militants were killed in the past 24 hours, adding that the total number of militants killed as part of “Operation Shaaban” had risen to 88.Naqvi said, “The total number of terrorists killed since July 5 in Operation Shaaban has reached 88.”The ongoing operation includes the Pakistani army, paramilitary forces and border guards, with security forces carrying out coordinated ground and air attacks against militant hideouts across the province.The operation was launched after a wave of coordinated attacks rocked Balochistan on July 5.The deadliest attack targeted a police checkpoint at the Manji Dam in the Ziarat area, where the gunmen killed nine police officers before kidnapping 18 others. Officials later found the bodies of the kidnapped policemen from the mountainous Zarghun Ghar region near Ziarat.The killings sparked outrage, with families of the slain officers continuing a sit-in protest at Koyla Batak Chowk on the outskirts of Quetta.
The demonstrators are demanding justice for victims and stronger security measures for law enforcement officials.On Friday, the grieving families brought eight of the 18 bodies from the Quetta Civil Hospital to the protest site, saying they would not bury them until the government ensured justice for them and better protection for police personnel.Violence also occurred in the Hana Orak Valley near Quetta on 5 July, where armed men attacked members of a local tribe, killing five people, wounding eight others and kidnapping 11 others.The kidnapped tribesmen were rescued on Friday evening, prompting their relatives to end a separate protest organized near Quetta Airport Road.Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has witnessed a decades-long insurgency. Baloch ethnic groups have long accused the federal government of exploiting the region’s vast natural and mineral resources while neglecting local development, which has led to occasional outbreaks of violence.
