Pakistan preparing major offensive against Balochistan separatists

The subject has not elaborated connected the details of the operation, which comes aft a bid of deadly attacks.

Pakistan has announced a “comprehensive subject operation” against separatist groups successful the restive southwestern state of Balochistan, which has seen a surge of deadly attacks successful caller months.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led a gathering connected Tuesday of governmental and subject leaders, and gave the go-ahead for the operation, his bureau said successful a statement.

Neither Sharif’s bureau nor the subject would divulge details astir the operation, oregon accidental whether it volition see crushed oregon aerial strikes, oregon whether parts of it volition beryllium conducted successful practice with China oregon Iran.

China has been pushing for measures to support its citizens aft they were targeted successful a spate of attacks, and connected Tuesday unveiled a program for associated counterterrorism exercises successful Pakistan.

Asked connected Wednesday if China is progressive successful Pakistan’s plan, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian did not straight comment, lone saying Beijing “is consenting to deepen pragmatic cooperation” to the payment of some countries.

Iran has besides been carrying retired extended subject operations successful the southeastern state of Sistan and Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, against separatist fighters.

According to Sharif’s office, the subject cognition volition people the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and different outlawed groups, but it is unclear erstwhile it volition start.

The authorities blamed the groups for “targeting guiltless civilians and overseas nationals to scuttle Pakistan’s economical advancement by creating insecurity astatine the behest of hostile outer powers”.

The BLA has agelong waged an equipped rebellion seeking independency from Islamabad. It is the biggest of respective taste rebel groups battling the government, claiming it unfairly exploits the province’s state and mineral resources.

On November 9, a suicide bomber with the BLA blew himself up astatine a crowded bid presumption successful Quetta, sidesplitting 26 people, including soldiers, constabulary and civilians.

Resource-rich Balochistan, location to galore equipped separatist groups, is the country’s largest and poorest state and borders Afghanistan and Iran.

In the past, equipped groups besides targeted vigor projects with overseas financing – astir notably from China – accusing outsiders of exploiting the portion portion excluding residents from the profits.

Thousands of Chinese nationals enactment successful Pakistan, galore of whom are progressive successful Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project.

Attack successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Pakistani subject said connected Wednesday that 12 soldiers were killed aft fighters attacked a basal successful the mountainous northwestern state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It said six fighters were killed successful the attack, which included ramming an explosives-laden conveyance into the perimeter partition of the subject outpost successful the territory of Bannu.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed work for the attack.

This brought the fig of radical killed successful equipped attacks successful the past 24 hours to 20, arsenic 8 radical died successful different attack, besides successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), besides known arsenic the Pakistani Taliban, claimed work for that assault.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced connected Wednesday that arsenic portion of its large-scale cognition successful Sistan and Baluchestan, it killed 3 much equipped separatists portion arresting 11.

Last month, astatine the petition of Iranian authorities, the Pakistani subject launched aerial strikes connected positions held by Jaish al-Adl, the equipped separatist radical considered an Israeli-backed “terrorist” organisation by Tehran. The attacks killed 12 members, the radical said.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies