6 suspected militants killed in SW Pakistan, says army

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - The Pakistani army on Sunday claimed to have killed at least six suspected militants in a security operation in the southwestern Balochistan province.

The suspected terrorists, who were killed in the mountainous Parom area of the Panjgur district, located 557 kilometers (346 miles) from the provincial capital Quetta, were members of the Balochistan Liberation Front, an outlawed separatist group in the mineral-rich province, the military said in a statement.

In January, the group had claimed responsibility for the killing of 10 army troops in an attack on a security checkpoint in the Kech district near Iran’s border.

"These terrorists were involved in attacks on security forces' posts, besides recent planting of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on security forces convoys in Parom and surrounding areas of Panjgur," the statement added.

During the operation, the statement said, arms and ammunition were also recovered, "which were intended to be used by the terrorists for disrupting peace and security in the area."

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest yet poorest province. Security forces have long been facing a low-intensity rebellion by Baloch separatists who claim the federal government has been depriving the province of economic and other fundamental rights despite the province having the richest in mineral wealth.

The province is also an artery of the $64-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan’s Gawadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation.

With its 600-kilometer (373-mile) coastline, Gwadar is an important deep seaport currently operated by China, which aims to attain direct access to the Indian Ocean via the seaport.

However, the separatists, who are accused of kidnapping and killing Chinese workers in the past, are opposed to the project, accusing Beijing of "stealing" resources.