Balochistan witnesses over 1,860 terror incidents in seven years

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan witnessed over 1,860 incidents of gun, bomb and suicide attacks in past seven years. Official documents revealed that the troubled province drifted back to violence of its history after a slight improvement in the preceding year.

Despite that military offences have helped achieve relative stability in other parts of the country, official statistics suggested that over 2,350 people were killed and 4,400 injured in these incidents during the said period. Some 1,000 bullet-ridden bodies were also recovered from various parts of the province since 2011, revealed the official documents.

Friday’s Mastung suicide blast proved worst terrorist attack in history of the province where at least 135 innocent people were killed and over 220 injured while over three dozen victims were in very critical condition in different hospitals of the province.

Year 2016 remained the worst one as the province witnessed 281 target/sectarian/terror incidents which caused killing of 331 innocent people and injuring 670 persons. In past 18 months, the province witnessed around 311 gun/terror attacks killing around 211 innocent people in its different parts. Official statistics continued to state that over 700 innocent persons were killed and 1,170 were injured in some 32 major terrorist attacks in Quetta, Mastung, Awaran, Khuzdar, Dera Bugti and some other districts in Balochistan in the past seven years. Some 418 people died and 596 injured in 316 terror incidents in the province in 2012. More than 530 innocent people died and 1,162 were injured in 246 incidents in 2013; 275 died and 731 injured in 281 incidents in 2014; 202 people died and 310 injured in 326 incidents in 2015.

The nexus of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, Daesh and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) further deepened in the province after the Islamic State took responsibility for the Mastung attack which targeted Nawab Siraj Raisani and his workers last week. The ultra-Islamic group also claimed responsibility of May 2017 on the then Senate Deputy Chairman Abdul Ghafoor Haideri’s convoy where 32 people were killed.

The worst factor is that the Islamic State extremists’ militia (Daesh) has shaken the province by executing last five deadly attacks in the province’s history by targeting law enforces, shrines and politicians in past two years.

Official statistics Geo News have had accessed to further revealed that the militants targeted Frontier Corps’ personnel 388 times while police personnel faced 251 incidents during thisperiod. Settlers witnessed 116 attacks while 128 incidents were recorded as sectarian attacks. Around 500 miscellaneous incidents were also recorded in the province during this period.

Before this attack, Daesh had claimed responsibility of brutal attack against lawyers in Quetta and a shrine in the remote district of Kuzdar. The LeJ had also established nexus with the Jaesh-e-Islam and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in the area. Akram Zehri, Ainuz-Zaman Akhunzada and Shafiq Rind were leading the militants in Quetta, Mastung and Bolan, official documents showed.

Three most wanted terrorists also belonged to Mastung district. Muhammad Dilshad Bangulzai, who earned Rs01 million on his head is a local commander of LeJ. He is an absconder and involved in planning of suicide attack on Imam Bargah Kallan, Quetta. Ghulam Farooq Bangulzai, who have head money of Rs2 million was trained by Riaz Basra (killed). He was involved in recruiting terrorists from Balochistan on the directions of LeJ leadership. He was once reportedly in Balochistan Liberation Army’s Kabo Ferrari Camp, District Mastung. Abid Ali having head money of Rs2 million is commanding LeJ in Quetta. He was declared absconder by the forces years back.

Balochistan security forces also claimed that they had arrested over 24,277 criminals and killed 474 criminals under the National Action Plan. Under Peaceful Balochistan Package, around 1,635 ferraris surrendered since the programme announced in the province by then Commander Southern Command Lt General Nasser Khan Janjua in 2016. The police registered 104 cases against those who misused loud speakers laws while security forces arrested 87 clerics on violating these laws. The forces also arrested 42 people who were holding hate materials by sealing 25 shops where 383 items and 1,200 books were also confiscated.