{"id":9401,"date":"2023-09-30T14:12:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T14:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/raw-involved-in-recent-terror-attacks-in-balochistan-says-interior-minister\/"},"modified":"2023-09-30T14:12:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-30T14:12:11","slug":"raw-involved-in-recent-terror-attacks-in-balochistan-says-interior-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/raw-involved-in-recent-terror-attacks-in-balochistan-says-interior-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018RAW\u2019 involved in recent terror attacks in Balochistan, says interior minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti on Saturday alleged that the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India\u2019s foreign intelligence agency, was involved in the recent terror attacks in Balochistan.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the media in Quetta, he claimed: \u201cThose playing the role of a facilitator, whoever is doing this \u2014 be it anyone, whatever you may call it \u2014 they all are the same for us, all have the same origins, all are being handled from one place, RAW is behind all them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The minister added, \u201cAll incidents that took place before this\u2026 they all were unearthed \u2014 all major incidents that occurred in Balochistan \u2014 and the RAW\u2019s involvement has been there behind all those, and the forces that want to destabilise Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not provide any proof or evidence to back his statements.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  w-full  w-full  media--stretch  media--embed  \">\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"\ud83d\udd34LIVE | Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti&#039;s News Conference | Dawn News Live\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0FuFNdJew4o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Bugti\u2019s remarks come a day after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1778511\/at-least-53-killed-scores-injured-in-suicide-blast-near-12th-rabiul-awwal-procession-in-mastung-officials\">grisly suicide blast<\/a> targeting a 12th Rabiul Awwal procession in Balochistan\u2019s Mastung claimed the lives of 55 people, including a police officer.<\/p>\n<p>No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan, denied its involvement.<\/p>\n<p>The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1778538\">second bomb attack<\/a> took place yesterday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Hangu, which targeted a police station\u2019s mosque in the city. Five people were killed, and 12 were injured as the mosque\u2019s roof collapsed in the explosion\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the media today, Bugti vowed to pursue terrorists to their \u201cdens\u201d and that the policy of appeasement would not \u201chappen anymore\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we know is that these appeasement policies adhered to \u2014 what we saw in the past two to three years \u2014 there is no tolerance for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the state knew where the terrorists were operating from and asserted, \u201cWe will go to their dens, where they are nurtured and which are their safe havens, and we will go against them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noting that at times an attack would be conducted by one organisation and another would claim its responsibility, the interior minister said the recent attacks were being investigated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether it is Daesh or TTP or anyone else\u2026 anyone committing violence under any banner\u2026 violence will only be exercised by the state,\u201d Bugti said while vowing to hunt terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>Recalling an attack earlier this month that left Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah injured, the minister stated that the mastermind of that attack was killed later.<\/p>\n<p>He also lamented past occurrences of the state switching to an \u201cappeasement policy\u201d when dealing with terrorist elements.<\/p>\n<p>He stated: \u201cI am honestly telling you that our issue is that we reach a certain level against terrorists \u2014 whether it is terrorism under the name of nationalism or religion \u2014 we reach a certain position of strength and then all of a sudden, our state switches to an appeasement policy and we reduce our [action].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Responding to reporters\u2019 queries, he said the provincial Information Minister Jan Achakzai could tell in detail about the matter of \u201csuspending DCs (district commissioners) and SPs (superintendents of police)\u201d, and asserted that a \u201cthorough investigation\u201d will be conducted.<\/p>\n<p>The minister highlighted that yesterday\u2019s blast was the \u201cfirst ever in Balochistan regarding [the occasion of] 12th Rabiul Awwal\u201d and noted that in the past, the Hazara community and Muharram processions were targeted.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the matter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1775002\">footballers abducted<\/a> earlier this month from the Dera Bugti district, Bugti confirmed that four of them have returned.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by a reporter if they had been recovered or were released by the abductors, Bugti said, \u201cFour have come [back] and the remaining two will also be recovered, God-willingly.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"ctd-registers-fir-of-mastung-blast\" href=\"#ctd-registers-fir-of-mastung-blast\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>CTD registers FIR of Mastung blast<\/h2>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said it has registered a first information report (FIR) of the Mastung attack that claimed the lives of 55 people, including a police officer, yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement issued today, the CTD said an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been filed against an unidentified attacker.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the investigation into the incident was ongoing and no arrests have been made so far.<\/p>\n<p>The CTD said the deadly attack resulted in the loss of at least 55 lives and left more than 60 people injured.<\/p>\n<p>The national flag was lowered to half-mast on government buildings, including the Balochistan Assembly, Chief Minister House, Governor House, and the Balochistan High Court today.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-full  w-full  media--stretch  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Pakistan\u2019s flag flutters at half-mast at the provincial assembly in Quetta on September 30, a day after a suicide bomber targeted a procession marking the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Mastung district. \u2014 Banaras Khan\/AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Balochistan caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai said the entire region of Mastung was \u201cengulfed in sorrow\u201d. He added that despite the heartbreak, the \u201ccourageous administration and security institutions are making efforts to restore a sense of normalcy as they and the families lay the martyrs to rest\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed that the government \u201cremains resolute in its determination to combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of its citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In an official statement, the provincial government said the injured people were currently undergoing treatment at several hospitals, including the Civil Hospital, Trauma Center, Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani Hospital, and Mastung District Headquarters (DHQ).<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, over 15 injured individuals were transported to CMH yesterday, following the directives of Quetta Corps Commander Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-full  w-full  media--stretch  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Relatives stand next to blast victim at a hospital in Quetta on September 30, 2023, a day after suicide bomber targeted a 12th Rabiul Awwal procession in Mastung district.\u2014Banaras Khan\/AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, Balochistan interim Information Minister Jan Achakzai had said that the \u201cenemy\u201d wanted to destroy religious tolerance and peace in Balochistan with \u201cforeign blessings\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In a subsequent press conference, the minister had said the death toll in the blast \u201cis immensely unfortunate\u201d. He had revealed that a number of families had buried their loved ones without bringing them to the hospital, adding that the government had not included these people in the official death toll.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"senate-chairman-visits-mastung-attack-victims\" href=\"#senate-chairman-visits-mastung-attack-victims\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Senate chairman visits Mastung attack victims<\/h2>\n<p>Also today, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani visited the Civil Hospital to inquire about the condition of those who were injured in the Mastung blast yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Senators Naseebullah Bazai, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai and Rukhsana Zuberi also accompanied him.<\/p>\n<p>He urged Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and the Balochistan chief minister to announce packages worth Rs20 million for those martyred in yesterday\u2019s attack, and worth Rs10m for those injured.<\/p>\n<p>Hoping that they would do so, Sanjrani expressed his sympathy towards the blast victims and asserted that the government \u201cwould not allow the peace process to be sabotaged\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"international-condemnations\" href=\"#international-condemnations\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>International condemnations<\/h2>\n<p>UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the terrorist attacks that took place a day ago, calling for bringing the perpetrators behind them to justice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is abhorrent that these attacks targeted people during peaceful, religious ceremonies,\u2019 he said in a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter).<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the regular briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric also condemned the terrorist attacks, state-run <em>Radio Pakistan<\/em> <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/radio.gov.pk\/30-09-2023\/unsc-strongly-condemns-heinous-suicide-attacks-in-pakistan\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, UN Security Council President Ferit Hoxha also strongly condemned the terror incidents in a press statement, the report said.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured.<\/p>\n<p><em>Radio Pakistan<\/em> further said the UNSC reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.<\/p>\n<p>The UNSC members underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, it stated.<\/p>\n<p>The report quoted the members urging all states to cooperate actively with Pakistan as well as all other relevant authorities in this regard, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant UNSC resolutions.<\/p>\n<p>PM Kakar received a telephone call from UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office said in a statement today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UK foreign secretary condemned the terrorist attacks in Mastung and Hangu and condoled the loss of innocent lives,\u201d the PM Office said.<\/p>\n<p>Cleverly expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and hoped for the speedy recovery of those injured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe prime minister thanked Secretary Cleverly and the United Kingdom for their expression of solidarity and reiterated his government\u2019s firm resolve to bring those responsible to justice and wipe out the menace of terrorism,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"rise-in-terror-incidents\" href=\"#rise-in-terror-incidents\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Rise in terror incidents<\/h2>\n<p>Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1723647\">ended its ceasefire<\/a> with the government in November last year.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, at least 11 people, including Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah, were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1775840\">injured<\/a> in a blast in the same district.<\/p>\n<p>A week prior to that, a Levies official was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1774672\">gunned down<\/a> at a bus stand by unidentified men, while two others who were passing by were injured.<\/p>\n<p>In May this year, unidentified attackers targeted a polio vaccination team in the Killi Sour Karez area on the outskirts of Mastung, resulting in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1754533\">policeman being martyred<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In October last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1715124\">three people were killed<\/a>, and six others were injured in a bomb attack targeting two vehicles in the mountainous area of Qabu in Mastung.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1419812\">at least 128 people<\/a>, including politician Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, were killed and more than 200 were injured in a deadly suicide blast in the same district.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti on Saturday alleged that the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India\u2019s foreign intelligence agency, was involved in the recent terror attacks in Balochistan. Speaking to the media in Quetta, he claimed: \u201cThose playing the role of a facilitator, whoever is doing this \u2014 be it anyone, whatever you may [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/09\/30170415647d119.png?r=170608","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}