President, PM condemn killing of 5 passengers in Gwadar’s Kalmat area – Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of five passengers in a firing incident in the Kalmat area of Balochistan’s Gwadar district.

Militants in Balochistan have recently intensified their attacks, with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerging as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan in 2024.

Five people were killed by armed men who blocked the highway late last night, while three long-body trailers carrying urea from Gwadar port were set on fire in the Tajaban area, according to Highway Police Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hafeez Baloch.

Officials said four people were killed in the Kalmat area between Pasni and Ormara after being offloaded from a Karachi-bound passenger bus.

“Armed men killed four passengers after checking their ID cards and took away three others,” an official of the local administration said, adding that they belonged to Punjab.

Security forces had moved towards the area where militants had blocked highways, with operations to clear the roads underway.

The president and prime minister, in separate statements, prayed for peace for the departed souls, speedy recovery of the injured, and strength for the bereaved families to bear the loss, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

“The terrorists are the enemies of the country’s development and prosperity in Balochistan. They cannot see progress in Balochistan,” President Zardari said.

“We will never allow the anti-state designs of miscreants to succeed,” PM Shehbaz vowed.

PM Shehbaz ordered that the injured be provided with the best possible medical treatment and that an investigation be carried out to identify and punish the perpetrators.

Calling the miscreants the enemies of peace and development, the premier said their cowardly actions of killing innocent people reflected their brutality.

He praised the security forces and law enforcement agencies for thwarting the nefarious designs of the anti-state elements, saying the entire nation was proud of them.

According to SSP Baloch, roads were also blocked in Turbat, Panjgur and Pasni. Levies officials said roadblocks were also witnessed in the Bolan, Kolpur and Mastung areas. They added that one of Levies’ vehicles was also set on fire in the Mastung area.

There were also late-night reports about an attack on a security forces post in Turbat. Heavy exchange of fire and explosions were heard in the Turbat town, but there was no official confirmation of the incident.

The attacks come amid a tense security situation prevailing in the province after the terrorist hijacking of the Jaffar Express train earlier this month, in which 26 hostages, including 18 security personnel, lost their lives. Five more security personnel were martyred during the operation.

On March 16, three security personnel and two civilians died as a vehicle-borne suicide bomber attacked a security forces convoy in the Noskhi district.

Last week, four labourers from Punjab were shot dead by unknown assailants in Balochistan’s Kalat district, while four policemen were similarly gunned down in Noshki.