Three security personnel were killed and nearly 20 people injured after a suicide bombing took place in Quetta, Balochistan on Sunday morning. The bomber rammed his motorcycle into a vehicle carrying Pakistani forces.
The bomb blast took place at a checkpost on Mastung Road in Baloch capital Quetta.
Pakistan's Geo TV reported that the Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) confirmed the suicide attack on the Sohana Khan FC checkpost on Sunday morning.
The injured have been shifted to the Sheikh Zaid hospital. Balochistan's counter-terrorism force has initiated an investigation into the bombing.
Despite Pakistan's proximity and close relations with the Taliban and other militant organisations in Afghanistan, the country is highly vulnerable to attacks by Jihadi groups. Balochistan is in the crosshairs of many militant groups that operate on Afghan soil.
One of the biggest threats to Pakistan comes from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group which is committed to a Greater Afghanistan. The TTP militants disregard the Durand Line which separates Pakistan from Afghanistan. The TTP wants to join Pushtun dominated areas in Pakistan’s north-west with similar areas in Afghanistan across the Durand line.
Defying Pakistan, the Taliban, which staged a massive comeback by taking over Afghanistan, recently released TTP militants in large numbers. These militants now pose a security threat to Pakistan. The TTP is opposed to the Pakistani military as it had launched the massive Zarb-e-Azb operation against it, killing thousands of its members. An estimated 500 Pakistani soldiers also lost their lives in that operation.
Balochistan is also Pakistan's soft underbelly due to China's presence through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The Baloch people, who want independence from Pakistan, have been sustaining an insurgency against Pakistan. Numerous freedom fighters from different Baloch organisations have targeted Chinese nationals in the region as they find China exploitative.
Over the last many years, Chinese engineers and workers in Balochistan have been killed. Even the hotel where the Chinese ambassador was visiting earlier this year was bombed. The attack killed five people though the ambassador escaped unhurt. The TTP took responsibility for the attack.
The increasing frequency of attacks in the region have strained relations between Pakistan and China. Beijing has reiterated that Islamabad expedites investigations into attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan and punish the culprits severely.
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