QUETTA: Four commanders of a proscribed organisation laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities in Quetta today.

The surrender took place in the presence of Home Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti.

“Militants surrendering before the law would be compensated and respected,” said Bugti.

Read: 400 militants in Balochistan lay down weapons on Independence Day

“We were trained in Afghanistan’s Nimruz province to carry out subversive activities in Pakistan,” said Abdul Sattar, a militant commander who surrendered.

“We have also informed the federal government of training camps operating across the border, and their role in training militants,” added Bugti.

Bugti also said that the present government is determined to ensure peace in the province.

On Friday, around 400 militants laid down their weapons before authorities in Quetta during a ceremony to celebrate Pakistan's Independence Day.

The government also announced amnesty for the militants adopting peaceful lives and they will be integrated in Balochistan.

Pakistan's largest province — which borders Iran and Afghanistan — is riven by sectarian strife and Islamist violence.

Its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

Also read: Another 59 Baloch militants surrender

Baloch separatists demanding more autonomy and control over gas and mineral resources have frequently targeted security forces and police for years.

Opinion

A long week

A long week

There’s some wariness about the excitement surrounding this moment of international glory.

Editorial

Unlearnt lessons
28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...
Pathways to peace
Updated 27 Apr, 2026

Pathways to peace

NEGOTIATIONS to hammer out the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement took nearly two years before a breakthrough was achieved....
Food-insecure nation
27 Apr, 2026

Food-insecure nation

A NEW UN-backed report has listed Pakistan among 10 countries where acute food insecurity is most concentrated. This...
Migration toll
27 Apr, 2026

Migration toll

THE world should not be deceived by a global migration count lower than the highest annual statistics on record —...