Balochistan CM says state open to dialogue within Constitution

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said the state's door remains open to anyone willing to negotiate within the Constitution and the law, after security forces carried out operations against militants in the Minaz area of Buleda, Kech district, in Makran.

The chief minister expressed satisfaction over the operations, which Dawn reported as successful. According to the report, he said effective operations against militants under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3 were needed to block attempts by unnamed elements to undermine peace in the province.

Dawn quoted him as vowing to eliminate an "atmosphere" that he did not describe in the portion of the statement the report carried, which was cut off mid-sentence.

The statement, as reported, did not name any militant group, give the dates of the operations or say how many fighters were killed, wounded or arrested. It also did not say whether any security personnel were hurt.

Buleda is a town in Kech district, part of Balochistan's Makran division. Kech borders Iran and has been the site of repeated security operations over the years.

The reports available carried no separate statement from the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, on the Buleda operations, and did not say which formation conducted them.

Bugti, a former senator and caretaker interior minister, has held the chief minister's office since 2024. His statement places the provincial government behind the ongoing operation, which he referred to by name in the reported remarks.

A second report on the same statement, carried by another outlet in the same news feed, did not add details beyond the chief minister's remarks on dialogue and the operations.