Daily Times

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday that intelligence agencies had intercepted communications between the terrorists who carried out attacks in Balochistan a day earlier and their handlers in Afghanistan and India.

Terrorists had attempted to attack security forces’ camps in Balochistan’s Panjgur and Naushki in two separate attacks late on Wednesday evening. The attacks had been “successfully repulsed” while dealing heavy damage to the terrorists, although one soldier was martyred in the Panjgur incident, the military’s media wing had reported.

In an update issued on Thursday, the ISPR said security forces had killed 13 terrorists in the province’s Panjgur and Naushki areas.

“After successfully repulsing terrorist attacks at Panjgur and Naushki yesterday night, security forces carried out clearance operation to hunt down terrorists hiding in the area,” the statement said. A total of 13 terrorists were killed and seven soldiers embraced martyrdom in an encounter between the security forces and terrorists in Balochistan on Wednesday night, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The security forces had thwarted terror attacks on their camps in Balochistan, initially killing four terrorists on Wednesday evening.

The latest statement issued by the military’s media wing said that the security forces carried out a clearance operation to hunt down the more terrorists hiding in the stated areas of Balochistan on Wednesday night after repulsing the attacks.

“In Naushki, the security forces shot down five more terrorists, bringing the tally to nine terrorists killed in the area while four soldiers embraced martyrdom in the encounter,” the ISPR said. Meanwhile, an operation was still underway in Panjgur for the elimination of terrorists present in the area, where four terrorists have so far been killed and four to five others have been encircled by the security forces.

In Panjgur, three soldiers were martyred and four others got wounded.

The ISPR further stated that the initial investigations reveal that the targetted terrorists had links in India and Afghanistan. The intelligence agencies have intercepted the communication of the terrorists and their handlers.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran Khan honoured the security forces for foiling the terror attacks in Balochistan.

Taking to Twitter, PM Imran Khan said that the nation stands united behind the security forces of Pakistan.

“We salute our brave security forces who repulsed terrorist attacks against security forces’ camps in Panjgur & Naushki, Balochistan. The nation stands united behind our security forces who continue to give great sacrifices to protect us,” the premier wrote. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad also issued a statement to hail the services of the security forces.

The minister, in a video statement released on Twitter, said that the terrorists made a major attack in Naushki and Panjgur late on Wednesday night, which the “great forces” of Pakistan thwarted. He said the terrorists had been thrown out of both Naushki and Panjgur as the forces “kept their tradition alive”.

“This is a great victory that the Pakistan Army has achieved against terror as per routine,” he said. He revealed said that “Pakistan army will soon defeat terrorists surrounded in Panjgur. Meanwhile, in view of the recent two separate terror attacks in Balochistan, the Ministry of Interior issued a security alert to all the provinces and urged the law enforcement agencies to exercise extreme vigilance. In a notification, the Interior Ministry directed the law enforcement agencies across the country – including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan – to observe the “highest level of preparedness”. The ministry said extra vigilance on the part of LEAs, provincial governments, and intelligence agencies would allow them to thwart nefarious designs of anti-state elements. The ministry noted that Frontier Corps Balochistan’s “alertness and bravery” was instrumental in repelling the two attacks in Balochistan.