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QUETTA:
As Balochistan reeled from a new wave of violence, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday blamed India for a coordinated terror campaign in the province.
Speaking to the media along with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti late on Saturday night, Naqvi said the attacks bore the hallmarks of external planning and support. “These were not normal terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you with certainty that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists,” he said.
He said authorities would pursue all those involved, as well as those directing them behind the scenes.
“We will expose them to the world – the face with which they face the world and the face with which they support terrorists,” he said.
Adding that India was the “main country” behind terrorism, Naqvi said it not only provided financial support to the terrorists but also helped them plan and strategize.
On his part, Bugti thanked Naqvi for immediately traveling to Quetta in the wake of the attacks.
“We chaired a high-level security meeting and visited the injured at the combined military hospital,” the chief minister said.
“In terms of the incident itself, there is no information yet, but I would like to say that the operation is largely over,” he said. Bugti also condemned the killing of women and children belonging to a Baloch family hailing from Khuzdar in Gwadar’s labor colony.
He praised police and security personnel for their response to the attacks.
“Terrorists’ morale was falling. To boost morale, they carried out this attack, but the death rate was very low,” the CM said.
“The resistance of the security forces was excellent,” he added, stressing that the state’s resolve “could not be weakened”.
Naqvi also held high-level discussions on law and order in Quetta, while Bugti reiterated that the martyrs’ sacrifices “would not go in vain”, according to an official statement.
It said the minister and the chief minister visited the police lines to offer funeral prayers for the martyrs and to meet their families.
“The people and security forces of Balochistan are brave and courageous,” Naqvi was quoted as saying.
“Our soldiers took comprehensive and effective action against terrorists. The sacrifices of the martyrs cannot be forgotten and the nation pays tribute to them.”
CM Bugti was quoted as saying, “The sacrifices of our martyrs will not go in vain. The state has always stood with the downtrodden and will continue to do so.”
