Nine police personnel were martyred after heavily armed militants attacked a police checkpost in Balochistan’s Ziarat district, officials said on Tuesday.
According to the Ziarat Superintendent of Police (SP), the assailants struck the checkpost in the Kach Mangi Phase III area. The brazen assault precipitated a fierce, sustained exchange of gunfire that raged through the night and resulted in the deaths of nine police officials, including two station house officers (SHOs).
The fallen officers include Muhammad Hussain, SHO Mangi, and Sohbat Khan, SHO Kowas. Their bodies were transferred to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Ziarat, while additional security forces were deployed across the area in the aftermath of the attack.
Balochistan Chief Minister’s Adviser for Information Shahid Rind said a joint clearance operation in the Mangi area of Ziarat district was successfully completed. Rind and officials reported that 15 militants were killed during the operation, which involved the Frontier Corps (FC), Balochistan Police, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the Special Operations Wing (SOW), and the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF).
After braving difficult, narrow mountain passes, DSP Ghulam Sarwar and eight fellow policemen reached Kach Police Station safely; Constable Rizwan was also rescued and is reported to be safe. The rescue and extraction were carried out under challenging conditions.
According to Rind, the militants paid a steep price for trying to disturb the peace in Balochistan. He said the state answered with full force, thwarting the attackers’ plans, and emphasized that there would be no refuge for militants in the region. Every attack, he insisted, will be met with a firm, decisive response, and intelligence-driven operations against militant networks will proceed with greater efficiency and rigor.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vehemently condemned the terrorist attack and honored the fallen police personnel. He prayed for the elevation of the martyrs’ ranks and conveyed heartfelt condolences to their families, wishing them patience and strength. The prime minister also commended the security forces for conducting a prompt clearance operation that resulted in 15 militants being killed.
Shehbaz Sharif stressed that the assault underscored the militants’ hostility to peace, development, and prosperity in Balochistan, and vowed that the martyrs’ sacrifices would not be wasted and that perpetrators would face justice. ‘We will not allow the enemies of peace to undermine stability in Balochistan; our fight against terrorism will persist until this scourge is eradicated,’ he said.
Mohsin Naqvi also lauded the police and security forces for eliminating 15 militants during the operation.