Over 140 militants surrender in Pakistan’s Baluchistan

Pakistan says more than 140 “disillusioned” militants have laid down their arms in the southwestern Baluchistan province in what Islamabad views as a major victory in the militancy-riddled province.

Provincial government spokesman Anwaar ul Haq said “more than 140” militants turned themselves in to Pakistani authorities in Kalat district south of the provincial capital Quetta on Monday.

The surrendered militants were from groups, including the Baluchistan Liberation Front (BLF), the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Lashkar-e-Baluchistan, according to the official.

Haq added that two commanders, who were relatives of Allah Nazar Baluch, the BLF chief, were among the militants.

“According to them, they were disillusioned from the fight, because they joined thinking that it was for a national cause, but within a year or two, they realized ... that the movement was directionless,” he said.

A BLF spokesman did not respond to a request seeking comment.

But Baluch militants frequently deny such incidents, describing them as government-staged propaganda.

Kalat district has recently witnessed paramilitary operations with 34 members of the so-called United Baluch Army lost their lives at the hands of the Pakistani paramilitary forces less than two weeks ago.

Pakistan has been facing security challenges since it joined an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror in 2001.

Thousands of people have been killed over the past decade as a result of a surge in violence in the country. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy.

In the country’s troubled northwestern tribal regions, Islamabad has been engaged in a major offensive against militant hideouts since June 2014, when a deadly raid on the Karachi International Airport ended the government’s faltering peace talks with the pro-Taliban militants.

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