Syed Ali Shah: Balochistan has conducted more than 60,000 intelligence-based operations and raids over the past two years, resulting in the arrest of 450 suspected terrorists and the killing of 1,100 others, Additional Chief Secretary Home Hamza Shafqaat said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference in Quetta alongside Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau and Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information and Political Affairs Shahid Rind, Shafqaat outlined the provincial government’s counterterrorism measures and security initiatives.
He said more than 300 police personnel and other security force members have lost their lives in the fight against terrorism, while 551 civilians have died in terrorist incidents.
Shafqaat said Balochistan had introduced 18 laws and established 17 departments to strengthen its counterterrorism framework. A faceless court had also been established, with cases involving 90 individuals registered, he added.
He further stated that approximately 1.1 million Afghan nationals had returned to their country and that the provincial government was taking additional measures to secure national highways.
The Home Department and arms licensing system had been digitised to improve administrative efficiency and oversight, he said.
Balochistan rejects comparison with KP
Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau rejected comparisons between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying misleading statements about the province’s security situation were unhelpful at a time when the country needed unity in the fight against terrorism.
He said the Balochistan government stood firmly with security forces and stressed that effective counterterrorism efforts required cooperation between provincial administrations, the federal government and security institutions.
Criticising Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for his remarks about Balochistan and security forces, Langau said such criticism was inappropriate. He acknowledged that Fazlur Rehman and his party had also faced difficult circumstances and suffered from terrorism.
The minister argued that the situation in KP could have been different if its government had cooperated with the federal government and security forces in implementing the National Action Plan.
He called for collective support for state institutions to help the country overcome its security challenges.
Balochistan reviewing Mines and Minerals Act
Shahid Rind rejected the impression that the KP government had been removed because it failed to approve the Mines and Minerals Act.
He said Balochistan was reviewing its own Mines and Minerals Act and consulting opposition parties to develop consensus on the legislation.
Rind added that Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti had taken the opposition into confidence during the legislative process and that the provincial cabinet and assembly had approved laws aimed at combating terrorism.
He also cited political developments in KP, including the provincial chief minister’s reported attempts to march towards Islamabad, among the factors surrounding the imposition of emergency measures there.
Rind said Balochistan’s chief minister had not announced any similar march towards the federal capital.
The provincial officials reiterated that the government would continue working with security forces to counter terrorism and strengthen security across Balochistan.
