Caretaker Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai on Sunday, two days after a deadly bombing in Mastung that claimed over 50 lives, said “enough is enough” and declared an “all-out war” against terrorists.
On Friday, a suicide bomber ripped through a procession celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on 12 Rabiul Awwal in Mastung, killing a police officer, religious leaders and children among dozens with the death toll at sixty.
Two days on, however, no militant group has come forward to claim responsibility for the bombing, prompting claims from the government that the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, was involved.
The banned TTP, in fact, distanced itself from the carnage in a statement. The Counter-Terrorism Department registered a case against unidentified persons.
A day earlier, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir had said terrorists and facilitators behind the attacks on 12th Rabiul Awwal were “proxies of the enemies of Pakistan and its people”. During a press conference in Quetta on Sunday, Achakzai was asked about a possible grand operation in the wake of terrorist attacks in the province.
In his response, the minister said he could not comment on that but reassured journalists that the state would defend each and every inch of its territory and carry out intelligence-based operations if needed.
Achakzai said terrorist incidents were occurring in all of the country “daily and it has a set pattern”, questioning why these attacks were only happening in Pakistan and not other regional countries. “This means there is a mastermind behind it who is systematically destabilising us. Enough is enough. Now there will be no appeasement or concession … we declare all-out war on these terrorists.”
