A day after a series of devastating attacks across Balochistan claimed the lives of at least 50 people, including 14 security personnel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that it was “time to end terrorism.”
During a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz condemned the recent violence in Balochistan, stating, “No amount of condemnation is sufficient for the horrific incidents that occurred yesterday.”
The latest surge of violence saw militants launching multiple attacks around midnight on Sunday, targeting both security forces and civilians, particularly those from Punjab.
The attacks, carried out by militants linked to the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)—a separatist group—resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people, including 14 security personnel, in various parts of the volatile province. The militants stormed police stations, destroyed railway tracks, and set fire to nearly three dozen vehicles across the region.
In Musakhail, a district bordering Punjab, militants executed 23 people after checking their identification documents.
In response, the military’s media wing reported that 21 militants were neutralized in subsequent operations, while Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged to eliminate terrorism in the province.
During today’s cabinet meeting, PM Shehbaz underscored that “dozens of Pakistanis” had lost their lives in recent terrorist incidents, pointing to the ongoing wave of terrorism in the past few months.
“According to reports, over 50 Pakistanis have been martyred, including our soldiers and law enforcement personnel,” PM Shehbaz said, referring to the recent attacks in Balochistan.
He emphasized that the terrorists were “deluded if they thought they could assert control by martyring innocent Pakistanis.”
“Their sole objective is to halt Pakistan’s progress,” the prime minister remarked, citing projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as targets of the terrorists.
He added that the terrorists aimed to “create a rift between Pakistan and China.”
Noting that the entire nation condemned the attacks, PM Shehbaz stated, “Instead of focusing on the region of origin of those martyred, it would be more appropriate and beneficial for the country’s well-being to say that terrorists martyred Pakistanis.”
