QUETTA (MNN); At least nine police personnel were martyred and five others abducted after heavily armed terrorists attacked a police checkpost in the Mangi area of Balochistan’s Ziarat district late Monday night, officials said.
According to Ziarat Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdul Qudoos, the attackers stormed the checkpost, triggering an intense exchange of fire. Nine policemen embraced martyrdom while the assailants abducted five officials before fleeing the scene. The bodies of the martyred personnel were shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital.
Following the attack, security forces and police launched a clearance operation in the area, killing 15 terrorists affiliated with Fitna al-Khawarij, according to Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind. He said the militants paid a heavy price for attempting to destabilize the province, adding that intelligence-based operations would continue until terrorism is eliminated.
“There will be no safe haven for terrorists in Balochistan, and every attack will receive a decisive response,” Rind stated, while paying tribute to the martyred police personnel and vowing that their sacrifices would not be in vain.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned what he described as an attack carried out by India-sponsored terrorists. Expressing condolences to the families of the martyred policemen, he said those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s peace and security were the nation’s pride.
Naqvi reaffirmed that such cowardly attacks would neither weaken Pakistan’s resolve nor derail ongoing efforts against terrorism.
The attack sparked widespread protests across Ziarat. Local tribesmen, transporters and relatives of the martyred officers blocked major highways at Ziarat Cross and other locations, demanding stronger security measures.
Police said the blockade suspended traffic on the N-50 Highway connecting Balochistan with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the N-70 Highway linking the province with Punjab, leaving hundreds of passenger buses and cargo vehicles stranded.
The latest attack comes amid a renewed surge in militant violence, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On May 24, a bomb explosion near Chaman Phatak in Quetta claimed the lives of 14 people, including three Frontier Corps personnel. Later, on June 25 and 26, security forces killed eight India-backed Fitna al-Hindustan militants during intelligence-based operations in Kharan and Mastung districts.
Pakistan has experienced a significant increase in militant attacks since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. In response, Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq targeting militant hideouts across the border, while repeatedly urging Afghan authorities to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan.
