Peace Like A River: Roundup of events in Balochistan

As before, these updates are from the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

April 18

Insurgents are reported to have blown up a pipeline of the Pir Koh gas plant in Balochistan, causing suspension of gas supply for some time on April 17. According to Dawn, the tribesmen tied explosives around the main pipeline head and ignited it by firing rockets.

Separately, at least 19 rockets were fired on Frontier Corps check-posts at Sangsilla, Chashma and Goltrakri in the Dera Bugti district on the same day. Official sources said that nobody was hurt in the attacks.

Further, a heavy exchange of fire between security forces (SFs) and armed insurgents was reported from Dera Bugti and adjoining areas on April 17. Chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, said that SFs had fired scores of rockets and mortar shells in different areas of Dera Bugti town and its outskirts, resulting in a large number of casualties. "At least four ambulances were seen taking the injured to Sui from Dera Bugti on Monday morning," he told reporters on the phone.

April 19

According to Dawn, gas supply to vast areas of the Mastung and Kalat districts in Balochistan province was suspended after a gas pipeline was blown up near Mastung on April 18. Official sources informed that a powerful explosive device had been planted under the pipeline supplying gas to the two districts, two kilometers away from Mastung Cadet Collage. They said that after the blast, the pipeline caught fire and was later controlled after stopping supply from main pipeline.

Meanwhile, a Frontier Corps soldier, Mohammad Israel, was injured when he stepped on a landmine in the Pir Koh area near Sui in the Dera Bugti district.

Further, insurgents are reported to have fired two rockets targeting a Frontier Constabulary check-post in Kohlu town. However, no casualty was reported. Rockets were also fired at a telecommunication microwave station near Nushki town on April 18-night, official sources said. The rockets hit a solar energy unit at the station and destroyed it.

Elsewhere in the province, gun-battles between security forces and armed insurgents were reported from the Karmo Wadh area of Kohlu district and the Sangsila and Chashma areas of Dera Bugti district. However, no casualty or other damage was reported.

April 20

Unidentified men on April 19 killed two soldiers, identified as Fraz and Muhammad Murad, in the Awran area of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, according to Daily Times.

Meanwhile, suspected insurgents fired eight rockets on security check posts in Dera Bugti and Sui. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

April 21

Insurgents reportedly fired rockets targeting paramilitary check-posts in the Sangsela Chashma and Ghori Nullah areas of Dera Bugti district in Balochistan on April 20. According to Daily Times, unidentified people also fired at check-posts in the Kahan Karmode area of Kohlu district. However, there was no loss of life or property.

Meanwhile, a soldier was injured in a landmine blast in the Talango area of Kohlu district.

Elsewhere in the province, troops seized three anti-tank landmines from the Pir Koh gas field.

April 22

Insurgents blew up a big railway bridge on the Sibi-Harnai section and destroyed a gas pipeline at Pir Koh in the Balochistan province on April 21. Official sources said armed men had planted powerful bombs under the bridge No 5 in Babar-Kach area and blew it up in the early hours, according to Dawn. It was the second large bridge on Sibi-Harnai section which had been blown up during the last one week.

In another incident, a pipeline supplying gas to the Pir Koh gas plant was blown up in the Mir Hasan area. "It was an 18-inch diameter pipeline supplying gas from wells to the plant," official sources said and added that the gas supply to Pir Koh gas plant had been suspended after the explosion.

Meanwhile, armed insurgents fired an unspecified number of rockets at a check post of the Frontier Corps in the Dera Bugti area. However, no damage was reported. Official sources added that firing was reported from the Karmo-Wadh area of Kahan where a solider was wounded when a landmine exploded.

April 23

Insurgents reportedly blew up a railway bridge near Kari-Dor in Balochistan on April 22, halting train services from the provincial capital Quetta. “Unidentified people have blown up an old bridge near Kari-Dor damaging 10 feet of the track,” said Irfan Gauhar, the Divisional Railway Superintendent in Multan. He said trains from Quetta to Punjab, the Chiltan Express, Balochistan Express, Jaffar Express and Bolan Mail had stopped at various stations. Two bridges at Sibi-Harani section have been blown up in the last three days and railway installations on this section have been attacked 12 times during the last couple of months, according to Daily Times.

April 24

The main pipeline supplying gas to the Loti plant was blown up on April 23 while security forces (SFs) foiled a missile attack at the Sui plant recovering 11 Russian-made missiles, according to Dawn. Official sources said armed insurgents blew up the pipeline suspending supply to the main plant in the Loti area of Dera Bugti district. The 18-inch pipeline reportedly supplies gas to the plant from well No 1. It was the second pipeline in the area that had been blown up in the last 48 hours.

Three people, including an alleged terrorist, were injured in a bomb blast at a bus stand in Quetta, the provincial capital, on April 23. Police said the blast occurred as the accused, identified as Mohammad Saeed Khilji, tried to enter a bus. "The accused is an Afghan national and belongs to the Babul area in Afghanistan," Balochistan Inspector-General Police Choudhury Mohammad Yaqoob said.

In another incident, two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine in Sangsilla on April 22-night. On the same night, a bomb exploded at the Harnai railway station, destroying the portion of a wall and damaging windowpanes of the building.

Further, insurgents fired five rockets at FC check-posts in the Sangsilla and Dera Bugti areas. However, all devices landed away from the intended targets. Separately, an exchange of fire between SF personnel and the insurgents was reported from the Ghori Nullah, Pahtar Nullah and Chashma areas of Dera Bugti district. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported.

Elsewhere in the province, SFs seized 11 missiles fitted with batteries and timers from a mountain in Tegh. "Militants wanted to target the Sui gas plant and cantonment area through these Russian-made surface-to-surface missiles," an official of the Sui administration said.

April 26

A suspected Afghan bomb-maker and four members of his family were killed when an explosive device he was building blew up in their home on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of the Balochistan province, on April 25, according to Daily Times. The man’s wife, mother-in-law, brother and three-year-old son died in the blast, province police chief Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob said. His second wife and another son aged 13 were injured and the roof of the house collapsed after the blast, he added. The suspect, Afghan national identified as Kamaluddin, was wanted by police following intelligence reports that some saboteurs had entered Pakistan for subversive activities, Yaqoob said.

Meanwhile, suspected insurgents blew up railway bridge No 31 in the Babarkatch area of Harnai destroying a 136-feet section of the rail track.

Further, the insurgents also fired seven rockets at security check posts in the Kohlu area on April 25, but no loss of life or property was reported. Separately, a landmine blast in Pir Koh damaged a water tank.

April 28

A heavy exchange of fire was reported between security forces and insurgents in the Lop area, while a convoy of Frontier Corps (FC) escaped a powerful bomb explosion in the Chamasha area of Dera Bugti district in Balochistan province on April 27. According to Dawn, tribesmen opened indiscriminate fire at a security forces checkpoint in the Lop area. They also fired five rockets at two checkpoints in the Chamasha and Sangsilla areas. However, no casualty was reported in these incidents. Further, a powerful bomb planted on the roadside exploded as an FC convoy was passing through the Chamasha area. No damage was reported. Separately, the troops defused four anti-tank mines planted at different places in Dera Bugti.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) stopped access to four Baloch websites carrying material about Baloch nationalists, BBC reported on April 27. The PTA cited "misinformation" as the reason for banning the websites. The banned sites are: www.balochvoice.com, www.baloch2000.org, www.sanabaloch.com and www.balochfront.com.

April 29

Two security force personnel were reportedly wounded in a landmine explosion at Sangsilla in the Dera Bugti district of Balochistan province, while insurgents blew up a pipeline suspending gas supply to the Pir Koh plant on April 28. According to Dawn, a vehicle on patrol in Sangsilla was blown up by the landmine, injuring Frontier Corps (FC) personnel Zeeshan and Fahim. However, tribal sources claimed that two FC men had been killed in the blast. They also claimed that four FC personnel were injured in a clash with tribesmen in the Qambar Lango area.

Insurgents are also reported to have fired rockets at FC checkpoints in the Loti, Ghori Nullah, Gundoi, Chamasha and Sui areas. However, no casualty or damage was reported.

In another incident, a bomb explosion was reported from Shahi Bazaar in the Kalat township. However, it caused no casualty.

May 1

Police in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, have arrested two Afghans suspected of planning to carry out suicide bombings, reported Aaj television. The two men were arrested on the basis of information secured from another suspected suicide bomber, Syed Muhammad, the channel quoted Quetta’s Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Ghulam Muhammad Dogar as saying. Muhammad was arrested while attempting to blow himself up on Quetta’s Circular Road a few days ago.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has placed five Baloch leaders on the Exit Control List (ECL), said Baloch leader Amanullah Kinrani on April 30. Dera Bugti District Nazim Kazim Bugti, Kohlu District Nazim Ali Gul Mari, Member of the National Assembly Abdur Rauf Mengal, Nawab Akbar Bugti’s nephew Sher Ali and Amanullah Kinrani, the Jamhoori Watan Party’s information secretary, have been put on the ECL.

May 2

Two paramilitary soldiers were injured when insurgents opened fire on security forces from the mountains near the Sangsila area in Dera Bugti district on April 30-night, according to The News.

Insurgents also fired three rockets from the mountains targeting a Frontier Corps (FC) check-post at Jandran in the Kohlu district of Balochistan province on May 1. However, the rockets missed the target and no one was hurt.

In another incident, the Quetta-Zehdan rail service was suspended after insurgents blew up the railway line near Naushki. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Syed Muhammad was injured in a landmine explosion in Bakadh. Troops also found and defused three landmines planted near a natural gas field in the Pirkoh area on May 1, according to Daily Times.

Also, Pakistan's government has put in place punishments for officers who refuse to serve in Balochistan.

The government has decided that officers who refuse to serve in Balochistan, after the approval of an incentive package by the prime minister, will be penalised. Sources told Daily Times that the prime minister had also approved the recommendation of the Establishment Division that officers of the All Pakistan Unified Group face disciplinary action if they refuse to serve in Balochistan. Sources said that the major punishment these defiant officials might face would be demotion. The Establishment Division has also recommended they be made officers on special duty for a certain duration. Sources said that the government had decided that a refusal to serve in Balochistan might lead to suspension of the officer and a departmental inquiry. Sources said that 25 officers who had refused to serve in Balochistan were later transferred to the province last month. These officers told the Establishment Division that they would not serve in Balochistan because “there is hatred against the centre and non-Baloch in the province”.