Militants disrupted peace after Pakistan cracked down on oil smuggling: Defense minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif stated on Monday that militants are disrupting peace and stability in the region because of the government-imposed ban on oil smuggling from Iran.

Addressing the National Assembly, the defense minister said that terrorists earn Rs4 billion daily from oil smuggling, which they use to finance their activities.

“The BLA is providing protection to criminal elements involved in smuggling, and our law enforcement agencies are acting against all of them,” he said.

Referring to recent terrorist attacks in southwestern Balochistan, the minister said, “In the last two days, 170 terrorists were killed. Our martyrs number 17, including 10 police personnel, six Frontier Corps personnel, and one Levies personnel.”

Last week, a series of near-simultaneous attacks involving gunfire, explosions, armed assaults, and suicide bombings were reported across multiple districts of Balochistan. 

In response, security forces killed at least 145 terrorists during nearly 40 hours of intelligence-based operations across southwestern Balochistan following coordinated attacks by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army, provincial authorities confirmed on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said militants carried out simultaneous attacks in 12 towns, including the provincial capital, resulting in the martyrdom of 17 security personnel and the killing of 31 civilians.

“The bodies of 145 terrorists are in the custody of the authorities,” Bugti said, adding that intelligence agencies had received advance warnings of the attacks, prompting preemptive operations a day earlier.

Follow-up operations

As part of continuing follow-up operations, 22 militants were killed by security forces across Balochistan, security sources said.

“Security forces are conducting sanitization operations across Balochistan against attackers of Fitna al-Hindustan Khawarij,” the statement added.

Islamabad uses the term “Khawarij” for militant outfits, invoking a historical label for an extremist sect in early Islam that rejected legitimate authority and declared other Muslims apostates.