Daily Times

QUETTA: An improvised explosive device hit a Frontier Constabulary (FC) vehicle on Sunday in 120Km west of Turbat, killing four soldiers and wounding three others, the military said. Pakistan has been battling India-sponsored insurgency in mineral-rich Balochistan since 2004.

The Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was also arrested from the province in 2016. The IED hit the FC vehicle during a routine patrol by the paramilitary force near the town of Turbat. “At least four FC soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while another three sustained injuries,” the military said in a statement. Balochistan is the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

Around 500 Baloch rebels on Friday surrendered to the government as Islamabad pursues its development agenda linked to the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the southwest province. Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri condemned the incident. He said security forces were ensuring security of borders and lives and property of people at the cost of their own lives. He said back bone of terrorists has been broken in Balochistan while remaining terrorists would be taken to task shortly.