A Pakistan Army major and a soldier were martyred on Sunday in an exchange of fire with militants in southwestern Pakistan, the army’s official media wing said in a statement, hours after four security personnel were killed in the province in a separate encounter.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that a combat patrol of security forces was initiated in Balor in southwestern Balochistan province, based on credible information about the presence of a group of militants in Hoshab.
It said while the patrol was busy blocking the escape route, a party of the militants tried to ambush the patrol and opened fire on security forces.
“As a result of heavy exchange of fire, two brave sons of the nation, Major Saqib Hussain and Naik Baqir Ali embraced Shahadat while another soldier got injured,” the ISPR said. It added that a follow-up operation to arrest militants in the area had begun.
The incident took place hours after three police officers and a Frontier Corps personnel were killed when militants attacked a security checkpost in Balochistan’s Sherani district with rockets.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area and has been the scene of a decades-long insurgency by separatists who are demanding independence from the country, citing what they say is the state’s monopoly and exploitation of the region’s mineral resources.
Baloch separatist militants have mounted attacks on Pakistan’s security forces ever since last year, when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and the state broke down in November 2022.
