Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday claimed that the recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan were “fully planned” with the involvement of multiple terrorist organizations, adding the government is fully aware of the perpetrators.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, he claimed the government was fully aware of the perpetrators behind the attacks, adding the incident was an attempt to sabotage the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference being hosted by Pakistan in October.
Alleging “many elements” were against Pakistan hosting the SCO conference, he stressed that such incidents were part of an organized conspiracy against it. Referring to a high-level huddle in Quetta on Thursday, he said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken all relevant stakeholders into confidence for the establishment of lasting peace in Balochistan, including holding detailed consultations with all political parties.
Emphasizing that anyone who did not recognize the state and took up arms was a terrorist, he echoed the prime minister in making clear that all terrorists would be dealt with iron hands. Those who believe in Pakistan and the state are respectable and the state would honor them, he said, while stressing that no military operation was on the cards.
The interior minister also noted that there might be differences among those who recognize Pakistan, but the government was attempting to resolve these issues. Urging all disparate groups to unite against the enemies of the state, he noted that the prime minister had allocated Rs. 5 billion for Balochistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department and Rs. 8 billion for resolving the issues being faced by the people in various divisions of the province.
Additionally, he said, the prime minister had announced a policy to meet the shortage of federal officers in Balochistan and around 40 officers would be posted there on an immediate basis. He said over 12 important decisions were taken in the meeting of the Apex Committee on Thursday, adding her had personally visited Balochistan twice in the last four days in order to resolve all pending issues.
Early on Monday, extremists affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army staged a series of attacks across Balochistan, killing over 50 people, including 14 security personnel. The deadliest attack of the day occurred in Musakhel, where militants offloaded passengers from buses and trucks and killed them after checking their identity cards.