QUETTA: Wearing hair nets and face masks, shopkeepers carefully packed fried lentils, chickpeas, potato chips and other nimco snacks into plastic bags for hoards of eager Eid Al-Fitr shoppers earlier this week. 
The scene is from a shop on Quetta’s famous Masjid Road, where hundreds of customers have been arriving daily ahead of the Eid holiday to buy nimco, a popular traditional Pakistani snack, typically a mix of fried ingredients like lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, nuts, and spices. Nimco is characterized by its crispy texture and spicy flavor, making it a popular snack for social gatherings and special occasions. 
While many Pakistanis celebrate the Eid festival with sweets like vermicelli, rice puddings and jalebi funnel cakes, in Quetta, nimco is the go-to snack.
“This bazaar is called Masjid Road and its specialty is that it is known as the Nimco Bazaar,” said Waled Sabir, a customer. “All the nimco varieties available in Pakista can be found here.”

Safiullah Khan, the owner of a 35-year-old nimco store on Masjid Road, said he was at his shop all day long in the days before Eid to cater to holiday revelers. 
“Fried potato chips, lentils and mixed nimco are the basic and most in-demand items on Eid,” he said. 

Apart from the appeal of its salty and crunchy flavor, nimco was also popular because of its affordability, Khan said. 
“Nimco is an important and affordable item for many Pakistanis during Eid and not as expensive as other dried fruits,” he said.
Syed Akram Shah, 52, agreed that nimco was a popular alternative to expensive dried fruits. 
“Dry fruits are not accessible to poor masses but nimco is an affordable refreshment for us on Eid,” he said as he shopped earlier this month on Masjid Road for fried lentils, his favorite type of nimco. 

“There is no Eid without nimco because we serve these crunchy snacks to our relatives and friends with a cup of tea when they come over for Eid,” Shah, who had tracelled from Mastung city located around 50 kilometers from Quetta, said. “It is a tradition in Balochistan.” 
Waleed Sabir, who lives in Quetta, said he had come to Masjid Road because he knew he would find all kinds of nimco there to buy for the Eid holiday.

“People of Balochistan are very hospitable and every dining table in every house will be decorated with refreshment items and nimco during the three days of Eid.”
Though Balochistan has seen rise in militant attacks in recent months, which have dampened Eid shopping, many shoppers and sellers said nimco was still a hot favorite. 
“Compared to the past [Eids], activities [in markets] have declined a bit due to the law and order and the prevailing situation,” said Khan the nimco seller, “but overall things are still fine.”

ISLAMABAD: Six “terrorists” were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province who were involved in attacks against civilians and law enforcers, the army’s media wing said on Saturday. 

The operation took place in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Mar. 29 on the reported presence of militants there, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said in a statement. 

“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and after an intense fire exchange, six terrorists were successfully neutralized,” the ISPR said. 

The army’s media wing said the slain militants were involved in recent “terrorist activities” in the area against law enforcement agencies and civilians. It said a sanitization operation was being conducted in the area to eliminate any other militants.

“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan,” the statement said. 

The operation took place amid a surge in militancy in Balochistan, Pakistan’s mineral-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan. 

Earlier this month, militants belonging to the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked a passenger train in the province, holding hundreds of passengers hostage. 

The military launched an operation and, after a day-long standoff, rescued 354 captives and killed 33 insurgents. A final count showed 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers had died in the attack.

The violence refused to die down, as days later three paramilitary soldiers among five people were killed in a suicide attack in Balochistan’s Nushki district. 

Balochistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency for decades where separatist militants demand a greater share of the province’s natural resources and accuse the central government in Islamabad of exploiting them. 

Pakistan’s government and military refute the allegations, pointing to health, education and other projects that they say will boost Balochistan’s development. 

The province is Pakistan’s largest by landmass yet its most backward by almost all economic and social indicators.