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'Ground zero' operation underway against militant hideouts near Pakistan’s border with Iran
Pakistani soldiers patrolling near Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan, Pakistan on February 25, 2020. (AFP)
Short Url
https://arab.news/93mx4
Updated 1 min 57 sec ago
BAKER ATYANI AND NAIMAT KHAN
June 05, 202010:15
Over the years, Iran and Pakistan have accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. In the most recent attack that has caused friction between the two nations, six Pakistani security personnel were killed in a bomb attack on a paramilitary Frontier Corps vehicle, the army’s media wing said in a statement on May 19. Six Pakistani soldiers were also killed in a roadside bomb attack in Balochistan on May 8.
Several militant groups are active in Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest but poorest province. Much of the violence in the past has been blamed on, or claimed by, ethnic Baluch separatists.
Baloch Khan, a spokesperson for the Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an umbrella group of Baloch insurgent groups, confirmed in a media statement last month that a “Pakistan army operation” was ongoing and soldiers were surrounding and raiding remote villages. However, he said no commanders or fighters of BRAS had been killed in the attacks.
An intelligence official, who declined to be named, told Arab News the operation code is “Ground Zero Clearance Operation.” Two additional intelligence officials confirmed an operation was ongoing. Two local witnesses in the Mand area of Kech district also confirmed “actions” in their area.
In a Twitter post on May 23, a pro-government politician from Balochistan, Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani, said the Pakistan army had launched “a sweeping operation” against the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) along the Pak-Iran border. Both groups are part of the BRAS umbrella, along with the Baloch Republican Army and the Baloch Republican Guards.
“The action began two nights ago [May 21], with a string of terrorists neutralized and hideouts busted,” Raisani said.
Speaking to Arab News, Raisani said a senior BLF commander, Abdul Hameed alias Ghazin Baloch, was among two dozen militants killed in the ongoing operation, which he said was led by soldiers of the Pakistan army and Fortier Corp. as well as intelligence officers.
The media wing of the Pakistani military and the foreign office declined comment for this article. Ijaz Ahmed Shah, the federal interior minister, said his team would respond to emailed questions but no reply had been received until the time of press.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zia Ullah Langove did not respond to specific questions about the operation “for security reasons” but said: “We have taken effective actions.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media on the issue, one intelligence officer based in Turbat said a “bank of targets” had been gathered by officials over many weeks, and raids were now being carried out in several areas, particularly against militants hiding in the border areas of Kecch, Panjgur and Gwadar.
Pakistan began fencing its 900-km border with Iran in May last year, which had become a source of “frustration” for militants, the intelligence official said, leading them to plan more attacks.
Last month, Pakistan’s military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke to his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammed Bagheri via telephone, and discussed border fencing, the improvement of border terminals and enhancing security, among other issues, according to a statement from the army’s media wing. The two officers also discussed recent attacks on Pakistani troops near the border.
On April 20 last year, just days after militants killed 14 bus passengers in an attack along the Iran border, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the insurgents behind the attack were based inside Iran, calling on Tehran to take action. The attack had been claimed for BRAS.
“The training camps and logistical camps of this new alliance [BRAS]... are inside the Iranian border region,” Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad. Iran denied any state involvement.
Just days after Qureshi’s comments, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a televised news conference with the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Tehran for a visit, that the two nations would form a joint quick reaction force to combat militant activity on their shared border.
“We agreed to increase the security cooperation of the two countries, our border forces, our intelligence forces,” Rouhani said. “And also to form a joint quick reaction force on the border of the two countries for fighting terrorism.”
Pakistani soldiers patrolling near Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan, Pakistan on February 25, 2020. (AFP)
Short Url
https://arab.news/93mx4
Updated 1 min 57 sec ago
BAKER ATYANI AND NAIMAT KHAN
June 05, 202010:15
- Pakistani intelligence officials, locals and a militant spokesman confirm latest operation in Balochistan to combat violence on shared border
- Officials say raids being carried out in several areas, particularly against militants hiding in Kecch, Panjgur and Gwadar areas
Over the years, Iran and Pakistan have accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. In the most recent attack that has caused friction between the two nations, six Pakistani security personnel were killed in a bomb attack on a paramilitary Frontier Corps vehicle, the army’s media wing said in a statement on May 19. Six Pakistani soldiers were also killed in a roadside bomb attack in Balochistan on May 8.
Several militant groups are active in Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest but poorest province. Much of the violence in the past has been blamed on, or claimed by, ethnic Baluch separatists.
Baloch Khan, a spokesperson for the Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an umbrella group of Baloch insurgent groups, confirmed in a media statement last month that a “Pakistan army operation” was ongoing and soldiers were surrounding and raiding remote villages. However, he said no commanders or fighters of BRAS had been killed in the attacks.
An intelligence official, who declined to be named, told Arab News the operation code is “Ground Zero Clearance Operation.” Two additional intelligence officials confirmed an operation was ongoing. Two local witnesses in the Mand area of Kech district also confirmed “actions” in their area.
In a Twitter post on May 23, a pro-government politician from Balochistan, Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani, said the Pakistan army had launched “a sweeping operation” against the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) along the Pak-Iran border. Both groups are part of the BRAS umbrella, along with the Baloch Republican Army and the Baloch Republican Guards.
“The action began two nights ago [May 21], with a string of terrorists neutralized and hideouts busted,” Raisani said.
Speaking to Arab News, Raisani said a senior BLF commander, Abdul Hameed alias Ghazin Baloch, was among two dozen militants killed in the ongoing operation, which he said was led by soldiers of the Pakistan army and Fortier Corp. as well as intelligence officers.
The media wing of the Pakistani military and the foreign office declined comment for this article. Ijaz Ahmed Shah, the federal interior minister, said his team would respond to emailed questions but no reply had been received until the time of press.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zia Ullah Langove did not respond to specific questions about the operation “for security reasons” but said: “We have taken effective actions.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media on the issue, one intelligence officer based in Turbat said a “bank of targets” had been gathered by officials over many weeks, and raids were now being carried out in several areas, particularly against militants hiding in the border areas of Kecch, Panjgur and Gwadar.
Pakistan began fencing its 900-km border with Iran in May last year, which had become a source of “frustration” for militants, the intelligence official said, leading them to plan more attacks.
Last month, Pakistan’s military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke to his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammed Bagheri via telephone, and discussed border fencing, the improvement of border terminals and enhancing security, among other issues, according to a statement from the army’s media wing. The two officers also discussed recent attacks on Pakistani troops near the border.
On April 20 last year, just days after militants killed 14 bus passengers in an attack along the Iran border, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the insurgents behind the attack were based inside Iran, calling on Tehran to take action. The attack had been claimed for BRAS.
“The training camps and logistical camps of this new alliance [BRAS]... are inside the Iranian border region,” Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad. Iran denied any state involvement.
Just days after Qureshi’s comments, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a televised news conference with the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Tehran for a visit, that the two nations would form a joint quick reaction force to combat militant activity on their shared border.
“We agreed to increase the security cooperation of the two countries, our border forces, our intelligence forces,” Rouhani said. “And also to form a joint quick reaction force on the border of the two countries for fighting terrorism.”
