Three terrorist attacks: Neighbours trying to ‘blackmail' Pakistan, says Balochistan minister

QUETTA: As the country is witnessing an uptick in terror incidents, Balochistan’s Caretaker Minister for Information Jan Achakzai has said that neighbouring countries are attempting to blackmail Pakistan.

“Recent [three] big terror attacks have proved that the neighbouring countries are attempting to blackmail us,” he said during a press conference in Quetta on Sunday. He also added that six Afghan nationals were involved in the Zhob terrorist attack. “We all know that one day [before the attack on PAF’s Mianwali base] RAW [-operated social media] accounts were conveying advance congratulations and warning of a major incident,” the provincial information minister said, adding, “Seeing the sophistication [of the attack], only RAW can mastermind [such attack].”

“[Given] the attack’s location and strategic importance, it is evident that no ordinary terrorist [organisation] can carry out such an attack,” he added while referring to the attack on PAF Base Mianwali on Saturday.

The interim minister’s remarks come as 14 soldiers were martyred after terrorists attacked two vehicles carrying security forces in Gwadar on Friday.

Also on Friday, least six people were killed and 20 were wounded, including two policemen, in a blast that targeted a police van in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

On the same day, five soldiers were martyred in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBO) conducted by the security forces. Meanwhile, three terrorists were neutralised — including a suicide bomber — by the security forces.

On Saturday, security forces killed nine terrorists thwarting a major terrorist attack on a training airbase, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Pakistan has witnessed a significant surge in terrorist attacks in recent times with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist organisations intensifying their attacks. The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in a report released last month, noted that the security forces lost at least 386 personnel in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high.

In the third quarter of the current year, more than 400 people have been killed in nearly 200 terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have been the primary centres of terrorism, accounting for nearly 94 per cent of all fatalities and 89pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations recorded during this period.