QUETTA / GWADAR: Amid an increase in militant attacks on security forces, two Pakistan Army personnel embraced martyrdom and two others received injuries in separate incidents in Balochistan.

In a statement on Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media affairs wing, said the terrorists assaulted a check post in the Khost area of the Harnai district resulting in the martyrdom of two soldiers and injuries to an officer as a result of heavy firing.

“Having successfully repulsed the distant fire raid, the escaping terrorists were pursued into the nearby mountains,” the statement said, adding, “As a follow up, during an encircling effort to cut off fleeing terrorists, a heavy exchange of fire took place between terrorists and a security forces patrol as well.”

It said that during the skirmish, Naik Atif and Sepoy Qayyum embraced martyrdom besides Major Umer who got injured.

Officer sustains injuries as militants storm check post; Panjgur DC house comes under grenade attack

The ISPR statement said the security forces remained determined to “thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “strongly condemned” the attack on the check post, reported APP. In a statement, the prime minister expressed “grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of Naik Atif and Sepoy Qayyum who foiled the nefarious designs of terrorists”.

He prayed to Allah Almighty to “elevate [the] ranks of the martyrs in paradise and give courage to the bereaved family to bear [the] loss”. He also prayed for the early recovery of Major Umar. PM Sharif said the Pakistani nation would never forget the sacrifices of the martyrs.

Grenade attack in Panjgur

In Panjgur, the official residence of the deputy commissioner, Abdul Razzaq Saloli, came under attack when unknown individuals hurled a hand grenade at the house, injuring an official of Levies and damaging vehicles.

The officials said that the grenade exploded in the backyard of the DC house. As a result of the explosion, levies operator Sagheer Ahmed got injured and four vehicles, including a bulletproof vehicle, were damaged.

Fortunately, deputy commissioner Sasoli and other members in the house remained unhurt. Soon after the blast, levies and personnel of other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and shifted the injured operator to a hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, a search operation was launched by the security forces in the area to trace the motorcyclists who were involved in the grenade attack.

On Saturday, an army soldier was martyred in an IED blast in Lower Dir as militants stepped up attacks against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Similarly, on Aug 9, four soldiers were martyred in a suicide blast at a military convoy in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2022