Quetta, July 7, 2026: At least nine policemen, including two station house officers (SHOs), were martyred in a terrorist attack on a police post in Balochistan’s Ziarat district, while 15 terrorists were killed in a subsequent clearance operation, officials said on Tuesday.
According to officials, heavily armed militants attacked the police post in the Mangi Dam area late Monday night. Police personnel resisted the assault and exchanged fire with the attackers for some time, but the assailants eventually managed to enter the premises.
Ziarat Deputy Commissioner Abdul Qudoos Achakzai confirmed the death toll and said five policemen were still missing after the attack. He added that additional personnel had been dispatched to the area and an operation was under way to recover the missing officials.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said those martyred included the SHOs of Mangi and Kawas police stations as well as Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) In-charge Head Constable Saifullah. He said the bodies of the martyred personnel were being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for legal formalities.
In a later statement, Rind said a joint clearance operation launched after the attack had been completed, during which 15 terrorists belonging to Fitna al Khawarij were killed. Fitna al Khawarij is the term used by the state for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He said the terrorists had paid a heavy price for attempting to disturb peace in Balochistan, adding that there would be no safe haven for militants in the province and every attack would be met with a full and decisive response. He further said intelligence-based operations would continue with greater intensity and elements challenging the writ of the state would be brought to justice.
Following the incident, residents blocked the Quetta-Ziarat highway and staged a protest sit-in, suspending traffic on the main Quetta-Zhob highway. A large number of vehicles, including passenger buses and trucks, remained stranded on both sides of the road.
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and paid tribute to the police officers who embraced martyrdom in the line of duty. In a statement, he said the state would foil every conspiracy aimed at undermining peace and stability in Balochistan and would continue operations against terrorism with full force.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack and paid tribute to the martyred policemen, vowing that the blood of the martyrs would be avenged. He said the government would not allow anyone to disrupt peace in Balochistan and would continue the fight against enemies of peace until they were completely eliminated.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the police for killing 15 terrorists and said the nation and security forces were determined to thwart every conspiracy aimed at sabotaging peace.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also lauded the successful operation and paid tribute to the martyred police personnel, saying they had set an example of unparalleled sacrifice in the line of duty. He warned that those challenging the writ of the state would meet defeat, adding that the fight against terrorism would continue until its logical conclusion.
The attack comes amid a broader security challenge in the province. Last month, unidentified armed men attacked police installations in Qila Abdullah, Pishin and Duki districts, martyring one policeman and injuring two others. In April, a police head constable was martyred in an attack on a checkpost in the Huramzai area of Pishin district.
Despite such incidents, recent data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) showed an overall decline in anti-state violence across the country in June. According to the report, Balochistan recorded 49 attacks in June compared to 71 in May, reflecting a 31 per cent reduction in terrorism-related incidents.
