A. Rahman
At least 33 people, including civilians and security forces, were killed on Saturday in multiple coordinated attacks carried out by Baloch separatist militants in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistani military officials said. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an outlawed militant group, claimed responsibility for the wave of violence that also left dozens of insurgents dead.
The nearly simultaneous assaults targeted a range of sites across the province, including a high-security prison, police stations, paramilitary checkpoints and civilian areas, officials said. Security forces engaged the attackers in intense firefights, killing an estimated 92 militants in a sweeping response across the region.
Pakistan’s military described the day of violence as one of the deadliest surges of militant attacks in decades and said it has launched clearance operations to eliminate remaining threats. Provincial officials noted that the recent spike in violence was unusual in both scale and coordination.
Much of the violence occurred in and around Quetta, the provincial capital, but several other districts were also targeted. Among those killed were 18 civilians and 15 security personnel, including police and paramilitary members involved in counter-insurgency duties. Local hospitals dealt with an influx of wounded civilians and officers.
The government also accused foreign support for the militants, pointing to alleged backing from neighboring India a charge that Indian authorities have denied. Security officials said their investigations indicated that some attacks were orchestrated by external handlers communicating with fighters in real time.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, has long been plagued by separatist violence as groups such as the BLA fight for greater autonomy and control over the region’s vast natural resources. Attacks by Baloch militants and allied groups have periodically surged in recent years, drawing condemnation from Islamabad and heightening concerns about security in the mineral-rich but underdeveloped province.
Authorities said security forces would continue counter-terror operations in the coming days, focusing on dismantling militant infrastructure and preventing further coordinated strikes.
Summary:
Dozens of coordinated attacks by Baloch separatist militants swept across Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Saturday, killing at least 33 people including civilians and security personnel and prompting a strong military response that killed around 92 insurgents, according to Pakistani authorities. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the assaults, which hit prisons, police stations and other sites in what officials called one of the deadliest campaigns of its kind in years.
