88 terrorists killed in ongoing anti-terror operation in Pakistan’s Balochistan

At least 88 terrorists were killed in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province since the launch of a major anti-terror operation on July 5, the government said on Saturday.

Nine terrorists were killed in the past 24 hours, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement.

“The total number of terrorists killed since July 5 in Operation Shaban has reached 88,” he said.

The military, paramilitary Rangers and the Frontier Corps are participating in the ongoing operation, which has involved both ground and air offensives against the militants.

The operation was launched after insurgents carried out several coordinated attacks across Balochistan on July 5.

The deadliest attack targeted a police checkpoint at Mangi Dam in Ziarat district, where militants killed nine policemen before abducting 18 others.

Their bodies were later recovered from the Zarghoon Gar mountainous area near Ziarat, officials said.

Meanwhile, families of the slain policemen continued their sit-in protest at Koila Phatak Chowk on the outskirts of Quetta, demanding justice and improved security for law enforcement personnel.

The protesters on Friday brought eight of the 18 bodies from the Civil Hospital in Quetta to the protest site, saying they would not bury them until the government assured them of justice and better protection for police personnel.

Also on July 5, militants attacked members of the Hanna Urak Valley tribe near Quetta, killing five tribesmen, injuring eight others and abducting 11 people.

The abducted tribesmen were recovered on Friday night, following which the protest staged by their relatives near Quetta’s Airport Road was called off.

Balochistan has been facing unrest for about two decades due to allegations by the local ethnic Baloch groups and parties that the federal government was exploiting the mineral wealth of the province.