Pakistan Army deployed in Balochistan for a year amid deteriorating security situation

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has authorized the deployment of the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps in Balochistan for a year to maintain law and order.

Ministry of Interior issued the order about troops deployment in response to the “request made by the Balochistan Home Department” amid the deteriorating security situation in the province, including militancy, sectarian violence, and targeted killings.

According to the Interior Ministry, 31 units of the Pakistan Army and 107 wings of the Frontier Corps (FC) will be deployed in Balochistan, effective from October 15, 2024, to October 14, 2025.

The decision was made under Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Section 131-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) 1898, and Sections 4 & 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the order read.

“The troops will not receive any internal security allowance to avoid burdening the national and provincial exchequer,” it added. The army and FC will assist civilian law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Recently, Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist activities, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where hundreds of innocent civilians and security personnel lost their lives, while thousands of them were injured.

A day earlier, at least nine people, including five schoolchildren and a policeman, were killed and 33 injured in an explosion targeting security personnel in Balochistan’s Mastung district.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Balochistan and KP remain vulnerable to terror activities, with 722 fatalities as a result of terror attacks, recorded in the first three quarters of the ongoing year.