An important member of the Pakistani Army, Lieutenant Colonel Laiq Baig Mirza, accepted martyrdom after being shot by terrorists, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
The military’s media wing claims that on the night of July 12/13, a group of 10–12 terrorists kidnapped Lt Col Laiq Shaheed, who was stationed in DHA Quetta, along with his cousin Umer Javed, as they were traveling back to Quetta from the residence of Quaid-e-Azam in Warchoom, Ziarat.
Army Quick Reaction Forces were sent out right away to pursue the evading terrorists after receiving the information. They were followed as they made their way to their hiding places near Mangi Dam.
Security forces then began a focused search operation with the help of Special Service Group (SSG) soldiers and helicopters.
As a result, on the night of July 13, one of the security forces’ teams noticed a group of 6–8 terrorists heading towards a nullah in the nearby mountains. Terrorists attempted to flee the scene after shooting Lt. Col. Laiq Shaheed after detecting their potential encirclement.
Two terrorists were shot dead by security forces during the ensuing gunbattle, and their hideout also yielded a sizable quantity of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), explosives, and ammunition.
The other kidnapped man, Omer, and the remaining terrorists, however, managed to escape for the time being.
Security forces have been conducting a sanitization operation in the area for the past 36 hours despite bad weather, determined to free the innocent civilians from hostage and capture the criminals.
Security Forces are still determined to thwart such cowardly attempts to undermine Balochistan’s peace, stability, and progress, according to the ISPR.
