Pakistani Paramilitary Checkpost In Balochistan Annihilated In Insurgent Attack; 6 Personnel Dead

An insurgent attack on a checkpost in Balochistan’s Ziarat district yesterday (20 March) has killed six personnel from the Balochistan Levies, a paramilitary gendarmerie, reports Dawn.

According to Deputy Commissioner Ziarat, Qadir Bakhsh Pirkani, the armed attack took place in the morning in Sanjavi area of the district.

All paramilitary personnel guarding the checkpost were killed, with the attackers managing to flee from the site.

More troops from the Balochistan Levies, as well other law enforcement officials, reached the area in the aftermath of the attack to launch a probe.

The attack was condemned by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal, who offered condolences to the kin of those who had died.

The province of Balochistan has witnessed a decades-long insurgency by Baloch nationalist groups who had fought against what they see as exploitation and oppression perpetuated by the Pakistani state. Sunni fundamentalist outfits, including the Afghan Taliban, are also active in the province, with its capital of Quetta being home to the Afghan terrorist group’s leadership council, or the ‘Quetta Shura’.