• Premier, CDF Munir attend apex committee meeting in Quetta following wave of attacks across the province
• PM blames ‘eastern neighbour’ for funding terror outfits, says Afghan soil being used for terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan
• Sit-ins continue over Hanna Urak and Ziarat incidents; Home Dept official says 11 people abducted over weekend ‘return safely’

QUETTA: As Balochistan continued to reel from a series of terrorist attacks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday vowed that the security operations would continue until the complete eradication of the menace from the country.

“I want to announce this decision today, on behalf of myself, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and the Balochistan government, that we will not step back from fighting this menace. We will eliminate it by utilising all available resources, and Pakistan will become a cradle of progress and prosperity,” the premier said during a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan.

Besides other civil and military leaders, Field Marshal Asim Munir and Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti were also in attendance.

The prime minister, along with federal ministers, paid a day-long visit to Quetta to take stock of the law and order situation prevailing for the last four days in the aftermath of the attack in Quetta’s Hanna Urak, the martyrdom of police personnel in Ziarat and subsequent sit-ins in different areas of the provincial capital.

As the meeting expressed its resolve to end terrorism, multiple incidents of violence were reported across Balochistan on Thursday, including clashes in the mineral-rich district of Chagai.

Reports said that armed men attacked the town on Thursday, entering government offices, banks, police stations and other buildings and ransacking them.

Referring to attacks in Ziarat and Hanna Urak in which over a dozen policemen were killed, the PM said very serious incidents had taken place during the last four days, resulting in the martyrdom of policemen, soldiers, and civilians.

The entire nation stood with the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies during this testingtime, he said, while appreciating the law enforcers for their sacrifices. The PM informed the participants that 54 terrorists were killed by the security forces in operations following the attacks.

‘Eastern neighbour’ blamed

The PM, however, blamed Pak­istan’s eastern neighbour for fomenting terrorism in the country, saying it was providing funding and weapons to the terrorist outfits. He stated that terrorists used Afghan soil to launch attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, but affirmed that the state would thwart their malicious plans under all circumstances.

He said Pakistan’s enemies were disturbed by the country’s diplomatic successes and the achievements of last year’s ‘Marka-i-Haq’ with India and were attempting to create instability through various means. However, he stressed that Pakistan’s political and military leadership remain united and steadfast in their resolve to defeat terrorism.

A day earlier, the opposition parties in Balochistan and a multi-party conference held in Islamabad said that decades-long grievances in the province required a political and constitutional response rather than a security-based approach.

Abductees released

Meanwhile, protesters continued to stage separate sit-ins in the provincial capital.

The sit-in being held on Airport Road to protest the Hanna Urak killings entered its fifth day on Thursday, while protesters who had marched from Ziarat to Quetta also staged a demonstration near Koila Phatak, along with the coffins of several policemen who were killed in the Ziarat attack. Both sit-ins were underway at the time of going to press.

Later on Thursday night, the Home Department said that 11 people, who were abducted by armed attackers from the Babri area of Hanna Uruk following a terrorist attack over the weekend, had been released.

Home Dept aide Babar Yousafzai confirmed that all of them were in good health. Quetta Deputy Inspector General Imran Sheikh had hinted in a press conference a day earlier that efforts are underway for their release.

Sources said that a jirga consisting of tribal elders, clerics and other influentials played an important role in the release of the abducted individuals.

Separately, two alleged terrorists were killed in an intelligence based operation in Washuk district on Thursday. Officials said here that security forces have conducted operations in the Killi Murad area of Washuk on the information about their presence in the area.

Heavy exchange of fire took place between security forces and alleged terrorists, resulting in killing two suspects while five other injured but managed to flee from the area.

Officials said the men belonged to Fitna ul Hindustan — the term used by the state for India-backed Balochistan-based terror groups.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026