Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Sixteen militants were killed in multiple operations in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Wednesday, according to state-owned Radio Pakistan. The operations were carried out in Mastung, Turbat and Quetta districts, while in a separate incident, two policemen guarding a polio vaccination team were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Nushki district.
The developments came amid continuing violence in the province bordering Afghanistan. Radio Pakistan said security forces and police recovered weapons and ammunition in the operations, while Balochistan chief minister’s adviser on home affairs Babar Yousafzai said the attack on the polio vaccination team took place during a door-to-door immunisation campaign.
advertisement
According to Radio Pakistan, nine militants were killed after they tried to attack a security post in Kanak Valley in Mastung district. Weapons, ammunition and three motorcycles were recovered from them, and one security personnel was injured in the exchange of fire. In Turbat district, security forces killed two militants during an intelligence-based operation in the Jausak area.
Police also foiled an attack on the Aghbarg police station on the outskirts of Quetta and killed five militants, Radio Pakistan said. The motorcycle-borne militants targeted the police station in the early hours of Wednesday, leading police personnel to return fire. The report said the attackers belonged to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and weapons and ammunition were recovered from them. Since its ceasefire deal with the Pakistani government ended in November 2022, the TTP has carried out recurring attacks in the province.
In Nushki district, Yousafzai said two policemen were shot dead on Tuesday while guarding health workers involved in a door-to-door polio vaccination campaign. He said the vaccination team escaped unharmed and the attackers fled. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack. Condemning the incident, Yousafzai said militant groups were trying to disrupt peace, healthcare and development in the province. “Polio is a crippling disease, and the government will continue its fight against it no matter how much these militants try to spread violence,” he said.
The attack took place during a week-long anti-polio campaign launched on Monday to vaccinate more than 31 million children across Pakistan. Overall, Wednesday’s developments in Balochistan included anti-militant operations in three districts and the killing of two policemen assigned to protect a vaccination team, as Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not been eradicated.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
