Pakistan(National Times)- QUETTA: A day after the devastating terrorist attack at Quetta railway station, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vowed to upgrade the professional capabilities of Balochistan’s law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to combat the menace of terrorism effectively. “The Centre will provide all-out support to the Balochistan government to maintain peace and eradicate terrorism from the province,” the security czar said in a meeting with Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti in the provincial capital on Sunday. A suicide bombing that ripped through Quetta Railway Station on Saturday morning claimed 27 lives, including security personnel and the suicide bomber, and left 62 others injured. The blast struck when a large number of passengers were on the platform to board the Jaffar Express. According to the initial report by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the suicide bomber detonated 8-10 kilograms of explosives on the platform crowded with passengers. The deadly attack drew condemnations from Pakistani leadership and world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Malaysian premier, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The interior minister, in today’s meeting with CM Bugti, reviewed the post-blast situation and discussed the measures taken to maintain peace, public security, and the protection of property in Balochistan. Both leaders paid homage to the martyrs and prayed for the elevation of their ranks. Expressing complete solidarity with the families of the martyrs, they stated, “The war against terrorism is the war of every Pakistani, and the defeat of our enemies in this war is the first and last option.” Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that further efforts were being made to ensure law and order and reiterated that a handful of elements are involved in terrorist activities in Balochistan, which would be rooted out in every way. Later, CM Bugti and Naqvi chaired a high-level meeting on the law and order situation in Balochistan here at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. The preliminary report of the suicide blast at Quetta railway station was also presented in the meeting. The meeting decided to take decisive steps with “full force to crush the terrorists and expand intelligence-based operations to thwart the nefarious designs of anti-state elements.” Addressing the meeting, Naqvi said that the federal government would provide all possible support to the Balochistan government to fight against terrorism. He also announced that provide resources to Balochistan on a priority basis. He said that measures would be taken to provide training and strengthen the professional capabilities of police, counter-terrorism department (CTD), Levies and other forces of Balochistan. He expressed the government’s resolve to defeat enemies who want to weaken Pakistan by furthering their nefarious designs.
Surge in terror attacks
As per a report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the third quarter of the ongoing year witnessed a 90% surge in violence. With a total of 722 people being killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review, 97% of the se fatalities occurred in the aforementioned provinces. Furthermore, over 92% of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces’ operations were recorded in the same provinces. The total fatalities from three quarters of this year have now surpassed the total fatalities recorded for the entire 2023; the number of fatalities rose to at least 1534 in the first three quarters compared to 1523 in 2023.
