Balochistan to revive security plans post Noshki killings: CM Sarfraz Bugti

The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, headed a high-level meeting with the law and order officials of Balochistan on Sunday to revise and improve the security situation in the province, according to Dawn.

This meeting was done following the killing of nine people, who hailed from the eastern Punjab province, after they were abducted by gunmen from a bus on a highway near the Noshki district and killed by unknown gunmen on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killings. They were on a journey to reach Europe for a better life.

According to Dawn, senior officials like the Balochistan Inspector General Abdul Khaliq Sheikh, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan, ACS Interior Zahid Saleem, and other senior civil and military officers had attended the meeting.

In the meeting, Bugti stated, “The situation after the Nushki tragedy was reviewed in the meeting. J Rukhshan Division gave a briefing in the meeting regarding the Nushki tragedy. The Nushki incident was condemned in strong words. It was decided to revise the security plan to prevent such incidents in the future. This war against terrorism is not only for the security forces, armed forces, bureaucracy, judiciary, media all have to fight; this war of the state against terrorism will be fought with political responsibility and a common plan of action.”

Bugti also instructed to ensure that compensation was given to the heirs of those killed within seven days. Further, he also stated that the government would also erect security checkpoints for the security of passengers.

According to a statement given to the media quoted in the Dawn, Bugti stated while attending the funerals of the victims that “those involved in the horrific killing are not Baloch but terrorists, and they should be called terrorists.”

Further, the Balochistan CM has also promised a strict probe into the Noshki killings. He added that they would not negotiate on the killing of innocents and the government would undertake a comprehensive review of the security plan in the province.

“National highways are the most important routes, and we will protect them. We will formulate a security plan again in the province, establishing checkpoints with joint patrolling of the police, Levies, and the Frontier Corps,” he said.

The Dawn also stated that “in a similar attack, possibly by the same gunmen, another two people were killed after they attempted to escape the cordon set up by the assailants on N-40, the Quetta-Noshki Highway.”

According to the official sources quoted by Dawn, armed men had blocked the highway and started intercepting vehicles. Soon after, they intercepted a passenger vehicle (Bus) on its way to Taftan from Quetta and looted the belongings of passengers, including cash and mobile phones.

After checking the identity cards of the victim passengers, these gunmen then separated nine passengers, who belonged to the Punjab province, taking them away at gunpoint. According to the national identity cards, the victims hail from Wazirabad, Gujranwala, and Mandi Bahauddin.