Four security forces personnel martyred in cross-border attack from Iran

RAWALPINDI: Four security forces personnel embraced martyrdom Wednesday in a cross-border terror attack in the Chukab area of Balochistan's Panjgur district.

Forces were martyred after the terrorists attacked their convoy from across the Pakistan-Iran border, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The terrorists, according to ISPR, used Iranian soil to target the convoy who were patrolling along the border.

"Iranian side has been asked to hunt down the terrorists on their side," the military's media wing stated.

A day earlier, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir resolved to thwart attempts by "foreign-sponsored and supported" hostile elements to destabilise the country's southwestern province.

On his visit to meet with troops in Balochistan's Khuzdar and Basima areas, the army chief emphasised maintaining optimum operational readiness while interacting with troops on-site to counter instability in the province.

"We are aware of the nefarious designs of external enemies of Pakistan to disturb the hard-earned peaceful environment in Balochistan," he added.

Last month, five soldiers were martyred and more than a dozen others injured as seven separate blasts ripped through Balochistan — in Quetta, Turtbat, Hub, and Kohlu districts.

For the past couple of months, Pakistan has been dealing with the return of terrorism, particularly in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, following which the country's civil and military leadership have resolved to confront terrorists as well as work against their intention to deteriorate peace in the country.