• Four scouts among six injured
• Region’s interior minister claims situation in Diamer is ‘normal’
GILGIT: Security forces claimed to have killed an alleged terrorist in an operation during which two civilians and four Gilgit-Baltistan Scout personnel were injured in Deral Valley of Diamer district on Thursday.
GB Interior Minister Shams Lone said that security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation to arrest three wanted terrorists who were allegedly involved in the attack on a passenger in which nine people were killed in Diamer last year.
According to Faizullah Faraq, the GB government spokesperson, the region’s police, GB Scouts, and Pakistan Army soldiers jointly conducted the operation at a house in Deral Valley.
As forces closed in on the suspected location, an exchange of fire with the alleged terrorists ensued, Mr Lone added.
In the gun battle, a local terrorist commander, Shah Faisal, who was also the alleged mastermind of the Diamer attack, was killed.
His accomplice, Zahidullah, was injured, along with two civilians — a young girl and an elderly man — and four GB Scouts members.
Mr Lone added that a third terrorist was still at large, and the forces were combing the area for his arrest.
The injured have been shifted to a government hospital in Deral, Diamer, and they are said to be out of danger.
Following the attack, the GB health department imposed an emergency in all health facilities across the district.
A notification issued by the health department directed all medical superintendents of the Chilas Regional Headquarters Hospital, Tangi Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, as well as the Diamer District Health Officer, to remain at their stations and not leave without seeking permission.
Situation normal in GB
“The hours-long shootout led to a very tense situation in the district,” Mr Lone told Dawn.com.
He , however, added that the situation was now normal across the region and all roads, including the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and Babusar Top road, are open for traffic.
Earlier, Mr Faraq, the GB government spokesperson, had told Dawn that KKH and Babusar Road had been closed as “precautionary measures”.
Following the operation, security has also been intensified across the region as part of Muharram, he added.
Mr Faraq told Dawn that over half a dozen extremists were nominated in last year’s bus attack after three facilitators arrested by police identified them.
The GB government and security agencies have repeatedly approached Diamar elders and other stakeholders for their handover to security forces, but no progress was made.
He clarified that Thursday’s operation was against the suspected terrorists, not the locals of Diamer, whom he called “peaceful and patriot”.
He said that all 12 suspects involved should be handed over to the police.
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2024
