GWADAR/KARACHI: In the aftermath of an attack on the Levies Force in Gwadar on Thursday which left an ad-ministration official and six personnel dead, the Balochistan home minister accused the banned Baloch Republican Party and Balochistan Libe­ration Army of “shedding blood of innocents for an unachievable goal”.

So far no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, but during a condolence visit to the victims’ families in Turbat and Gwadar, Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti spoke to the media and said the recent attack was “a barbaric act of those enjoying their lives abroad”.

“They can never win this war,” he said. “I ask Hyrbyair Marri and Brahamdagh Bugti to quit their European lives and come home. I will fight along with them if their cause is justified.”

During the visit, the minister announced Rs3 million in compensation, a plot in Gwadar and government jobs for the heirs of the deceased.

Accompanied by Senator Shahbaz Durrani, Sarfaraz Bugti met the family of Naeem Gichki, the Tehsildar of Jiwani, who was killed in the attack.

The incident

The attack took place nearly 85 kilometres from Gwadar in the Koldan area at around 4pm when two vehicles carrying the Levies team came under fire, leaving the seven people dead. Four others were injured.

Seven other personnel of the force remained unhurt. The deceased were identified as Jamadar Ali Jan and sepoys Imam Bukhsh, Obaidullah, Akbar Jamali, Ameer Jan and Naimat Qasim.

No case has been formally registered as yet, but investigators have managed to ascertain the number of attackers.

The attack, they said, was carried out from a temporary hideout. They added that the scope of the probe had been widened after they found some crucial evidence.

Treatment and recovery

Risaldar Major Abdullah, 58, and Sepoy Nizam, 28, who were injured in the attack underwent operations for bullet injuries in the lower torso.

They were receiving treatment at the Civil Hospital, Gwadar, before their families decided to shift them to Karachi’s Liaquat National Hospital due to lack of medical facilities in Gwadar.

Speaking to Dawn outside the accident and emergency ward of the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), Risaldar Major Abdullah’s cousin, who is also a Balochistan Levies soldier, Mohammad Saleem, said Sepoy Nizam underwent surgery on Thursday evening during which a bullet stuck in his upper right thigh was taken out.

He added that they moved his cousin because Abdullah’s condition was critical, as one of the two bullets he received was stuck in the bone of his upper left thigh which needed immediate attention.

Abdullah was sent in the civil hospital’s ambulance, whereas Nizam was sent by a private car and their families followed them in rented vehicles.

The condition of both men was termed critical by doctors at the LNH where they underwent treatment which was supervised and paid for by the Balochistan government, Mr Saleem said.

Talking about Risaldar Major, Mr Saleem said that doctors only wanted to “gauge whether Abdullah would need any psychological treatment/therapy post-operation”.

Standing outside the emergency ward, Mr Saleem divulged details of the attack which were narrated to him by Abdullah.

“This is the first time the Balochistan Levies men have been attacked in such a manner in Gwadar,” said Mr Saleem. “Before that we had only heard of attacks on the armed forces and Frontier Corps. It is unexpected since Gwadar falls under the A area which is a designated urban spot where such attacks usually don’t occur,” he added.

“Abdullah was inside a Balochistan Levies pick-up, followed by another, on the coastal highway, which straightaway leads to the Pak-Iran border and to Jiwani on its left,” he said.

“This road is considered to be the safest outside of Gwadar and is mostly used by the Levies and military troops. Abdullah said that when they reached Koldan, around eight masked men on four motorbikes stopped them outside the Levies checkpost,” he added.

It seemed that the assailants were already waiting for them, explained Abdullah’s cousin, and “as soon as the Levies vehicle stopped one of the men asked the officers to step out of the vehicle and hand over their weapons or else they would fire a rocket”.

“Abdullah said he couldn’t see any rocket launcher and thought they were only threating to make the officers step out. Fearing an ambush, one soldier in the Levies vehicle behind them fired at the masked men, prompting them to fire back and attack the two vehicles,” he added.

Mr Saleem, who is among the troops appointed for the security of the additional deputy commissioner of Gwadar, said there were 17 personnel in two vehicles and some of them did step out, and so did Abdullah, but went back into the vehicle after he was shot at. “One bullet has been taken out but the other remains stuck in his left upper thigh,” he said.

Seven people died after having been shot mostly in the head and chest. Six of them died on the spot and one upon reaching the hospital.

Mr Saleem said that the injured fell unconscious, including Abdullah, because of excessive bleeding after being hit in the shoulders, arms and lower torsos and were considered dead by the attackers, who checked after the firing had stopped.

According to a statement by the Balochistan Levies, seven of the men remained unhurt and survived the incident. When Mr Saleem was asked about it, he said that his cousin had not mentioned the seven survivors and probably did not know anything about them.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2016