The law and order situation in Gilgit and Balochistan has been a bit tense as both strategically important regions again came under attack on Saturday in which three policemen were martyred while eight others, including three Chinese engineers, were injured. Three policemen were martyred while two terrorists were killed in an attack on a check post in Kargah Nullah area of Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday. According to reports, a group of five terrorists attacked a police check post in the Kargah area. As a result, three policemen embraced martyrdom; however in retaliatory firing one terrorist was also killed, while his accomplices fled the scene. Police said that the terrorist was involved in recent attacks on schools in Diamer.
In a separate incident, at least six people – among them three Chinese engineers – were wounded in a suicide attack on a bus in the Dalbandin area of Chagai district on Saturday morning. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a foreign-funded terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack which took place in the Dadar area. The bus carrying Chinese engineers was being escorted by Frontier Corps (FC) troops to the Dalbandin airport from Saindaik cooper and gold mines when the bomber tried to drive his explosives-laden vehicle in to the bus. The BLA claimed responsibility for the attack and shared on social media the photo of what it called the ‘suicide bomber’. The banned outfit usually carries out gun or IED attacks on government installations, security personnel, and labourers from Punjab working in Balochistan, however this for the first time that the BLA has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack. Though this is not something unusual on their part but the fact is that these terrorist groups can go to any extent to foment trouble and create anarchy in the country, which happens to be the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies.
Pakistani nation has fought a long and crucial battle against war on terror in which thousands of Pakistanis including military and para-military troops have fell victims to terror attacks over the past several years. The years’ long battle had yielded a great number of positive results, on the internal front the security situation has improved to a large extent but there are some vulnerable areas where security needs to be beefed up to make sure that no untoward incidents take place. Particularly, the government of Balochistan should provide a foolproof security to Chinese nationals who have unfortunately been an easy target of the outlawed groups aided and abetted by foreign agencies operating from Afghanistan. So far as the situation in GB is concerned, the region has a special significance with regard to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and therefore it is imperative that the forces involved in disturbing harmony and peace in the region should be dealt with heavy hands.
