Khuzdar: Unidentified armed individuals stormed the town of Ornach in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Saturday evening, taking police and Levies personnel hostage before setting their stations on fire.
According to sources, a large number of armed men entered the town at around 6:25 PM. The attackers, estimated to be over 50 in number, took strategic positions across the area before besieging the police and Levies stations.
The assailants disarmed the security personnel, looted weapons from both stations, and torched two Levies vehicles. Additionally, they seized a police vehicle before retreating toward the mountainous regions.
According to government officials, no casualties occurred in the attack. However, in response to the security breach, a heavy contingent of security forces has been dispatched to Ornach to restore control.
A senior official from Balochistan’s Home Department revealed that the attackers took around ten firearms from the police station and two more from the Levies personnel.
Khuzdar district administration officials confirmed the deployment of additional security forces to stabilize the situation in Ornach, a remote, rugged, and mountainous region located approximately 130 kilometers southwest of Khuzdar city.
This is not the first incident of its kind in the region. Earlier this year, in January, dozens of armed assailants attacked Zehri town in Khuzdar. In that attack, they set fire to the Levies station and a NADRA office, looting weapons, a vehicle, and a motorcycle before fleeing.
Later, on the night of January 31 and February 1, armed militants overran the Manguchar town headquarters in Kalat district, taking temporary control of the Quetta-Karachi highway. The attack resulted in the deaths of 18 security personnel, while an ISPR statement confirmed that 12 militants were killed in retaliatory action.
Security sources have observed a growing trend of militant groups launching nighttime attacks, seizing temporary control of highways, and penetrating remote areas before retreating.
Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Ornach, the January assault in Zehri was claimed by the banned militant organization, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti has downplayed the militants’ ability to hold territory for extended periods. Speaking to news agencies after the Manguchar attack, he stated that militants can only maintain control for "10 to 15 minutes," during which they either inflict civilian casualties or target off-duty security personnel.
