Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said on Monday, that a large-scale operation against terrorists has been started in Balochistan.
According to reports, Home Minister of Balochistan Mir Ziaullah Langove chaired a meeting on law and order situation where the participants reviewed an investigation report regarding the recent Mach incident besides discussing the future strategy and recommendations.
“A large-scale operation has been commenced against terrorists as the enemies of the country are behind the latest wave of terrorism,” said the minister.
Langove said that Balochistan is currently at a war zone and action will be taken at the site where terrorists are present.
The operation comes after when earlier in this month on January 3, at least 11 coal miners had been brutally killed after being kidnapped by armed men in Mach area of Balochistan. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaaq news agency.
In reaction of the latest military operation in Balochistan, Mama Qadeer Baloch reacting on the news of military operation in Balochistan, said that killing of unarmed Hazara miners in recent days was to pave the way for a large-scale military operation on Baloch people instead of religious extremists.
Mama Qadeer Baloch is vice chairperson of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), an organisation consisting on the families of the missing persons. VBMP has been continuously protesting for more than 10 years. Their protest aims the save recovery of “more than 45000” forcibly disappeared persons.
Regarding the operation, Mama Qadeer Baloch said that Pakistani authorities were facing severe international pressure in addition to defamation, so they are blaming others for creating an atmosphere of resistance in Balochistan. “Now an operation has been launched against Baloch in the name of religious extremism,“ he added.
“Covert operations already continue across Balochistan but now Balochs will be openly targeted in the name of religious extremism,” Mama Qadeer said.
Baloch political circles termed the killing of 11 Hazara miners in Mach, as “diversion of attention” from the alleged murder of activist Karima Baloch in Canada.
Karima Baloch was a dissident Baloch political and human rights activist who was living in exile in Canada. She fled Pakistan in 2015 after her activism in Balochistan had her being followed and threatened by the Pakistani authorities and was granted asylum in Canada a year later in 2016.
The death of Karima Baloch sparked anger and rage and engendered a climate of gloom and resentment throughout Balochistan. Protests erupted across Balochistan against her “murder”. Baloch political forces, various rights organisations and family members of Ms Baloch are blaming Pakistani intelligence agencies for her alleged murder and have been demanding a through investigation into the matter.
Jamil Bugti, son of a slain nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti said in a tweet: “Has anyone realised how they have shifted the attention of the world from the murder of Karima Baloch in Canada by killing 11 innocent Hazaras in Balochistan.”
Khalil Baloch, the chairperson of Baloch National Movement (BNM) said in a tweet that the brutal killings of members of the Hazaras in Mach is another wicked act of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.
A medical student and activist Mahrang Baloch a week earlier the government’s official announcement said “Killing of innocent Hazara People to divert the issue of Balochistan will no longer work.”