QUETTA:
The bodies of four men, including missing security personnel and an abducted police constable, were recovered from the Shaban area of Quetta on Wednesday, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
According to sources, the deceased have been identified as Airport Security Force (ASF) Inspector Zubair Ahmed Shahwani, former Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) corporal Syed Khalil-ur-Rehman, retired Pakistan Army Havildar Sadiq, and police constable Farid.
These officials had earlier been reported abducted from the Mangi Dam area. Police shifted the bodies to a local hospital for legal formalities and final identification procedures.
The recovery brings to an end the search for Inspector Shahwani and his friend, Khalil-ur-Rehman, who had been missing since June 21 after leaving Shahwani’s residence in the Killi Barat area of Jinnah Town.
Constable Farid had been missing since his alleged abduction from the Mangi Dam area, while retired Havildar Sadiq had also been unaccounted for before his body was recovered.
Following the discovery, security forces cordoned off the area to collect forensic evidence and launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Officials said the exact circumstances and cause of the deaths would be determined after forensic examinations and completion of the investigation.
No official statement on the incident had been issued by the government or law enforcement authorities at the time this report was filed. Three more terrorists killed in ongoing Operation Shaban
Meanwhile, security forces killed three more terrorists in the latest phase of Operation Shaban on Wednesday, taking the total number of terrorists killed in the ongoing operation that started on July 5 across Balochistan to 88, security sources said.
The joint operation by the Pakistan Army, the Frontier Corps and the Balochistan Police was launched in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Mangi Dam Police Station and remains underway, with forces intensifying action against terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij across the province.
Fitna al-Khawarij is the term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Terrorists ambushed police personnel deployed in the Kach Mangi Phase III area of Ziarat last Tuesday, triggering hours-long gun battles that left nine police officers, including two station house officers, dead. The attackers also abducted several civilians and police personnel after the assault. The military subsequently launched a series of counterterrorism operations across Balochistan.
According to security sources, terrorist hideouts had been successfully targeted during the latest operations, inflicting heavy losses on the group. “Operation Shaban will continue in Balochistan until the last terrorist is eliminated,” they said.
