QUETTA: Armed men attacked the Levies and police stations in Ornach area of Khuzdar and set fire to the record and buildings, while in another attack they burnt the machinery of a dam in the Zehri area on Saturday night.

Officials said that a group of around 100 armed men cordoned off the main bazaar in Ornach to take control of police and Levies stations. They made police officials hostage and snatched their weapons.

“Armed men snatched all weapons and other equipment from the police and after ransacking the record, they set the police station on fire,” Yasir Iqbal Dashti, Khuzdar deputy commissioner, said. He said the assailants also tried to take over the Levies station. Their attempts to snatch weapons from the levies officials failed after the latter offered resistance.

In another attack, assailants burn down dam machinery

However, the armed men set a levies patrol vehicle on fire before taking away a police vehicle and 13 automatic guns and ammunition. Sources said that armed men remained in the area for an hour and later disappeared in the mountains.

In another attack, a group of armed men attacked a dam site in Zehri. Official sources said that the attackers burnt all machinery at the Sohndah dam. They also held the watchmen hostage before setting the machinery of the dam on fire.

“All equipment and machinery were completely burnt in the fire. The armed men, after achieving their target, fled the area,” said officials. A heavy contingent of security forces later reached the area and launched a search operation to trace the elements involved in the attacks on levies and police.

According to officials, a child was killed in a grenade attack at a house in Sui area of Dera Bugti on Friday. They said the grenade exploded inside the house, injuring two persons and damaging a portion of the house. The injured were admitted to the Sui Hospital.

Abdul Wahid Shahwani from Khuzdar also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2025