Pak COAS says army aware of ‘nefarious designs’ of external enemies in Balochistan

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir said on Tuesday that the army is aware of the “nefarious designs” of “external enemies” to disrupt the peace in Balochistan. The army chief made the remarks during his visit to the Khuzdar and Basima areas of Balochistan

According to the ISPR, the media wing of Pakistan’s army, the army chief landed in Quetta on Tuesday where he was received by the Corps Commander Quetta Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor.

ISPR said that Munir was briefed about the security situation in Balochistan and the measures being taken to ensure a “peaceful and secure environment.”

“We are aware of the nefarious designs of external enemies of Pakistan to disturb the hard-earned peaceful environment in Balochistan,” the ISPR statement quoted the army chief as saying.

The ISPR said that the COAS had instructed the troops to maintain minimum-level operational readiness to thwart disruptive attempts from external foes.

The army chief had added that the troops’ deployment in Balochistan was “focused” on providing an “environment for benevolent people-centric socioeconomic development.”

The law-and-order situation in Balochistan has been on the mend in the past few weeks as Baloch “pro-independence” groups have stepped up their activities against the Pakistani security forces.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban, who formally ended their ceasefire with the Pakistani army and started activities targeting security forces, has also become active in Balochistan. Earlier in December, the TTP claimed responsibility for the attack that left six Pakistani soldiers dead in Chaman.