Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Quetta on Thursday for a day-long visit where he will chair a meeting regarding the law and order situation, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
In a post on X, the PMO said the premier was welcomed by Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti and senior civil and military officials.
“The prime minister will chair a high-level meeting regarding the law and order situation,” it said.
Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and PM’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah are accompanying the premier on the visit.
PM Shehbaz’s visit comes a day after the military revealed that at least 42 people — including security and law enforcement personnel — have lost their lives in terrorist attacks and subsequent operations in Balochistan since July 5.
Addressing a press briefing in Rawalpindi, the military’s spokesperson said that there were “three major terrorist incidents” in the past four days — an armed attack on the outskirts of Quetta on July 5, an assault on a police post in Ziarat on July 6, and an ambush of an army convoy in Bela on Wednesday.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warned terrorists and their facilitators to expect no “rationality and proportionality” as security forces continue to hunt down the perpetrators of the attacks.
He also pointed the finger squarely at India and Afghanistan for being behind the attacks, saying that it was the handiwork of India and “those forces with India who cannot tolerate Pakistan’s respect, prosperity and stability”.
