Attack on security forces convoy in southwestern Pakistan

An attack on security forces convoy in southwestern Pakistani province Balochistan killed at least three security personnel and wounded four others, said officials. A paramilitary Frontier Corps' (FC) spokesperson told that a FC convoy traveling from Wadh to Bela area struck a remote controlled explosive device planted on the roadside near Jhao area in Khuzdar district of Balochistan killing three personnel and wounding four others. He further said that militants who were hiding in nearby mountains opened fire on the security convoy after the blast. The security forces retaliated for the gunfire and exchange of fire continued for almost an hour. The injured people were shifted to the nearby hospital where condition of two blast victims was reported as critical. Balochistan has been a target of militants' insurgency, sectarian violence and kidnappings for ransom for more than a decade. The attack came just after a day when the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the authorities to form a committee for initiating a reconciliation process and negotiations with disgruntled Baloch nationalists. Nawaz presided over a meeting on law and order at the Corps Headquarters on Thursday and said that the committee should be constituted in consultation with the political leadership of Balochistan to initiate peace dialogue with the nationalists as part of the reconciliation process.