• Law enforcement thwarts attempt to block key highway
• Three bullet-riddled bodies found in Nasirabad
• Six militants’ bodies shifted to Quetta for identification
• Truck driver thought dead in attack recovers in hospital

DERA MURAD JAMALI / QUETTA: The situation in Balochistan remained tense on Tuesday, a day after militants launched coordinated attacks that left dozens dead in one of the worst waves of violence in the province’s history.

Security forces hunted the militants responsible for the deadly assaults, including pulling passengers off buses before killing them, blowing up a key railway bridge and storming a hotel.

At midnight between Sunday and Monday, militants took control of a highway and shot dead 23 people, mostly labourers from Punjab, and attacked the hotel and the railway bridge connecting Balochistan to the rest of the country.

The sites hit were cordoned off Tuesday as the search for assailants went on. “But no arrests have been made so far, and no additional militants have been killed,” provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind said.

Monday’s death toll includes 35 civilians and 14 members of the security forces, while the military said troops killed 21 militants.

Situation remains tense

As the province grapples with the aftermath, authorities on Tuesday discovered three more bullet-riddled bodies in Nasirabad district, while law enforcement agencies foiled an attempt to block the Quetta-Karachi National Highway in Khadkocha.

“All three individuals were killed by gunshots to the head and other parts of the body, leading to their deaths,” police said, quoting hospital officials.

A pistol, spent bullet casings and a motorcycle were recovered from the scene. The faces of two of the victims were covered and the bodies have yet to be identified. Further investigation was ongoing.

Separately, the bodies of six militants were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta for identification. “We have received six bodies for autopsy and identification,” said Police Surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz, noting that their identities had yet to be determined.

Meanwhile, unknown armed motorcyclists opened fire at two people near Javed Complex in the Gormakan area of Panjgur, killing one of them on the spot and injuring the other. In another firing incident, two people were injured in the Khuda-i-Abdan area of Panjgur town.

All victims were shifted to a district hospital. The deceased was identified as Sajjad Ali, while the injured included Irfan, Abdul Wahab and Sajid.

Besides, Levies said that armed men barged into a house and took a man away with them at gunpoint. After 20 minutes, the man’s bullet-riddled body was found in Keshnak area. In another firing incident in the Buleda area of the Kech district, armed men kidnapped a man and killed him in the Grank area.

Truck driver survives

Meanwhile, a truck driver, who rescuers initially thought was dead, was recovering on Tuesday after hospital staff receiving bodies realised he was alive despite being shot five times by militants.

The driver, Munir Ahmed, recounted how he and his colleagues were ambushed on the highway by armed men who forced them out of their vehicles and shot them before leaving their bodies in a stream.

A nurse said Mr Ahmed had been hit by five bullets in the arm and back but was in stable condition.

Bridge being restored

The railway bridge in Bolan, a key link between Balochistan and the rest of the country, lay in ruins on Tuesday after explosives were used to destroy it, halting train services and leaving the area littered with debris.

Railway officials are working to clear the road and restore the bridge.

“Explosives were used to attack our main bridge routes yesterday, which has stopped trains from travelling to other parts of the country,” Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway official in Balochistan, told AFP. “We are working to clear the road as quickly as possible to ease traffic for the public,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2024