Pakistan Alleges Deadly Balochistan Attacks Were Orchestrated from Afghan Soil
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has claimed that the perpetrators of recent deadly attacks in the Balochistan province operated from Afghanistan. He made this assertion on Thursday, July 9th, during a visit to the province and at a meeting of the provincial High Committee for the “National Action Plan,” which was attended by Pakistan Army Commander Asim Munir.
These remarks come in the wake of three major militant attacks over the past four days in Balochistan, which, according to Pakistani officials, resulted in the deaths of 42 security personnel. Officials also reported that 54 militants were killed in counter-operations carried out by security forces.
In the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif referred to what he described as “terrorism supported by India from Afghan soil,” emphasizing Islamabad’s determination to confront this threat. He stated that the war against terrorism would continue until “the last terrorist is eliminated,” and he praised the efforts of security forces and civilians. Pakistan refers to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan as the “fitnah khawarij” (rebellious heretics).
A spokesperson for the Pakistani army also announced that four attackers were involved in one of these assaults, three of whom were Afghan nationals.
Pakistani authorities have previously accused the Afghan Taliban administration of providing a safe haven for anti-Pakistan insurgents within Afghanistan—a charge that Taliban officials have repeatedly denied. Nonetheless, the continuation of such allegations has heightened concerns about the use of Afghan territory to destabilize the region—a matter on which the Taliban administration is expected to be held accountable and to prevent the use of areas under its control to threaten neighboring countries.
