Pakistan to launch comprehensive operation against militants in Balochistan

Pakistan launches comprehensive military operation in Balochistan against leading terrorist organizations to ensure national security and stability.

Pakistan decided to launch a comprehensive operation against militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan after a series of deadly attacks. “The participants of the Federal Apex Committee of the National Action Plan on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) approved a comprehensive military operation,” said a statement.

The target of the blitz would be the leading terrorist organisations operating in Balochistan including the Majeed Brigade, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), and Balochistan Raaji Anjou-R-Sanger (BRAS) who targeted innocent civilians and foreign nationals to scuttle Pakistan’s economic progress by creating insecurity at the behest of hostile external powers.

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It was decided during a meeting headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by senior civil and military officials, including Army Chief General Asim Munir.

The participants of the meeting, which focussed on “Reinvigorating Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism (CT) Campaign”, were briefed on the evolving security landscape and the measures taken to counter terrorism and other critical challenges, including general law and order situation, actions against efforts to stoke sub-nationalism, religious extremism, tackling the illegal spectrum and crime-terror nexus, sub-version and disinformation campaigns, among other issues.

The committee highlighted the necessity of a unified political voice and a cohesive national narrative to effectively address these multifaceted challenges.

It was emphasised that political support across party lines and complete national consensus were critical to reinvigorating the national counterterrorism campaign under the framework of vision "Azm-e-Istehkam" and agreed upon revitalisation of the National Counterterrorism Agency (NACTA) and the establishment of National and Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre.