QUETTA — At least nine policemen, including two station house officers (SHOs), were martyred late Monday night during a terrorist assault on a police post in the Mangi Dam area of Balochistan’s Ziarat district. Armed militants launched the attack under the cover of darkness, forcing their way into the premises after a sustained gun battle with the deployed officers. Following the breach, security forces initiated a joint clearance operation that successfully eliminated 15 terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, locally designated as Fitna al Khawarij.
صدرِ مملکت آصف علی زرداری کی زیارت میں پولیس چوکی پر فتنہ الخوارج کے دہشت گرد حملے کی شدید مذمت۔
صدرِ مملکت کا حملے میں جان کا نذرانہ پیش کرنے والے پولیس افسران اور اہلکاروں کی جرات و فرض شناسی کو خراجِ تحسین۔
بلوچستان میں امن و استحکام کو سبوتاژ کرنے کی ہر سازش ناکام بنائیں…
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) July 7, 2026
Personnel Casualties and Ongoing Search Operations
The fallen officers include the SHOs of the Mangi and Kawas police stations, as well as Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) In-charge Head Constable Saifullah. Ziarat Deputy Commissioner Abdul Qudoos Achakzai confirmed the casualties and stated that the whereabouts of five additional policemen remain unknown. Emergency backup teams have been dispatched to the mountainous area, and an active search and recovery operation is underway to locate the missing officials. The bodies of the martyred personnel were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital for legal proceedings.
Public Outcry and Highway Blockades
The deadly assault triggered immediate public anger, prompting local residents to block the primary Quetta-Ziarat highway in protest. The demonstration quickly expanded to include a sit-in on the main Quetta-Zhob highway, completely suspending commercial and private traffic. The blockades left a large volume of transit vehicles, including passenger buses and cargo trucks, stranded on both sides of the highways.
وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کا زیارت کے علاقے میں 15 بھارتی سپانسرڈدہشتگردوں کو جہنم واصل کرنے پر پولیس کی ستائش
پولیس اہلکاروں نے اپنی جانیں قربان کر کے دہشتگردوں کے مذموم عزائم کو ناکام بنایا۔— Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) July 7, 2026
The upper tier of Pakistan’s political and security leadership strongly condemned the attack, promising an unyielding response. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued statements vowing to avenge the deaths and eradicate elements threatening the stability of Balochistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi attributed the sabotage to Indian-sponsored networks, while Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti declared that the war against Fitna al Khawarij will continue until its logical conclusion. This high-profile clash breaks a brief period of relative calm, following statistical data from June that had shown a 31 percent decline in militant attacks across the province.
