Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday denied that any military operation is underway in the province, saying that security forces are only carrying out intelligence-based operations (IBOs).
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said the government has a clear policy for anyone who picks up arms, but the state is always open to those who want to return and seek forgiveness.
However, he questioned whether the country should continue a reconciliation policy with militants. “Should we allow terrorists to reach Islamabad?” he asked.
His comments came a day after security forces killed 12 terrorists during an IBO in Kalat.
CM Bugti said militants from Balochistan were released and resettled in 2018 under the same strategy used for the banned TTP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but “these militants are still fighting the state and killing innocent people.”
He added that an anti-state narrative was being spread against Pakistan, the armed forces, and the military leadership, including Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The chief minister said KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi should not support such a narrative and urged him to stop constant protests and focus on providing relief to people.
Bugti also backed the ISPR director general’s recent press conference in which the military spokesperson called PTI founder Imran Khan “mentally ill” and a “national security threat.”
Sharing security figures, he said Balochistan had faced 900 terror incidents, resulting in the deaths of 280 civilians, 205 security personnel, and six officers, including two from the province.
He said security forces had conducted thousands of IBOs, killing 706 terrorists who had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan to plan attacks. He added that 10 militants’ bodies were still lying near the border.
