File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
Baloch separatist group claims responsibility for assault that left 14 security personnel dead
A large number of terrorists targeted a convoy of the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of 7 Frontier Corps personnel and 7 security guards.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the “encounter” took place on the Coastal Highway near Ormara while the convoy was traveling from Gwadar, Balochistan, to Karachi, Sindh. “Security forces responded effectively, ensured security of OGDCL persons and managed their safe exit from the area,” it said.
However, read the statement, 14 personnel embraced shahadat. “During the clash, substantial losses were also incurred to the terrorists,” it added, though there was no clarity on how many of the insurgents had also been killed in the strike.
The names of the security personnel who were martyred are as follows:
- Subedar Abid Hussain of Layyah
- Naik Muhammad Anwar of Sibi
- Lance Naik Iftikhar Ahmed of Dera Ghazi Khan
- Sepoy Muhammad Naveed of Chakwal
- Lance Naik Abdul Latif of Pishin
- Sepoy Muhammad Waris of Mianwali
- Sepoy Imran Khan of Lakki Marwat
- Havaldar (retd.) Samandar Khan of Lakki Marwat
- Muhammad Fawadullah of Lakki Marwat
- Attaullah of Dera Ismail Khan
- Waris Khan of Tank
- Abdul Nafay of Kohat
- Shakirullah of Kohat
- Abid Hussain of Bannu
According to the ISPR, the area has been cordoned off and a search operation launched to apprehend the militants. “Such cowardly acts by inimical elements to sabotage peace, stability and economic development in Balochistan shall never be allowed to succeed,” it said. “Moreover, these acts can not subdue resolve of our forces which are determined to defend motherland, even at the cost of their lives,” it added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a statement, condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the martyred. “He commiserated with families of the security personnel martyred in the attack, lauded the services of the martyrs and prayed for the departed souls,” read a report by Radio Pakistan.
BRAS claims
In a statement, the separatist Baloch Raaji Aajoi-e-Sangar (BRAS) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it had “completely destroyed” the OGDCL convoy. Baloch Khan, a spokesperson for BRAS, claimed the convoy was targeted because OGDCL was “exploiting Baloch resources.”
Claiming to fight “for the freedom of Balochistan,” the BRAS spokesman warned OGDCL that any projects to drill for new oil and gas supplies in the province “would be dealt with iron fists.” He added: “We also want to inform China that Baloch nation completely rejects all Chinese agreements with the Pakistani occupying forces and they stand null and void.”