Suspected militants kill judge, security guard in ambush in restive southwest Pakistan

Suspected militants ambushed a vehicle carrying a district judge in restive southwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing him and his security guard before fleeing the scene, police said, as Pakistan’s powerful army chief vowed to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure wherever it poses a threat to the country and its people.”

The attack occurred in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province where separatist insurgents have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months. Security forces responding to multiple recent attacks have killed over 100 alleged insurgents from Baloch groups in various areas in Balochistan in recent weeks.

A local police chief in Mastung, Abdul Rauf, said Judge Abdul Hakim Kakar was traveling from Quetta, the provincial capital, to Mastung to hear cases when “terrorists ambushed his vehicle and killed him” and his guard.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatist insurgents, who have intensified attacks across the province in recent months, particularly the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army.

The killing of the judge drew condemnation from Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who ordered authorities to launch an operation to trace and arrest those responsible.

Read more: AP