Pakistan's Bloody Day: Baloch Separatists Crack Down on Militants

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The Pakistani army said 33 soldiers and civilians were killed in multiple suicide attacks and gunfire by terrorists across Balochistan province, while Pakistani security forces killed 133 attackers in response.

Analysts described the incident as the deadliest day for the Baloch Liberation Army militants in decades. During the attacks, Baloch militants targeted civilians in a key prison, police stations, and militant installations. The Pakistani army said 18 civilians, 15 soldiers, and 133 militants were killed in the clashes.

Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban have been continuously targeting security forces in Balochistan and other parts of the country; However, attacks of this scale are rare. The Pakistani army and the interior ministry have claimed that the attackers were backed by India. New Delhi has quickly denied the claim.

The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings and shootings against Pakistani troops. Several banks were looted, and a police station and dozens of vehicles were set on fire. The Baloch Liberation Army has released videos showing female attackers taking part in the attacks.

The attacks came a day after the army said security forces had raided two militant hideouts in the southwest of the country this week, killing 41 militants in separate gunfights.

Sarfraz Bugti, a local official in Balochistan province, wrote on X that security forces were hunting the insurgents and had killed at least 700 insurgents in the past year.

Earlier on Saturday, insurgents were reported to have destroyed train tracks, leading to the suspension of rail services from Balochistan to the rest of Pakistan.

“The attacks began almost simultaneously across the province,” said Bakht Muhammad Kakar, a health official in Balochistan. “Two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police vehicle in Quetta, and the government declared an emergency in all hospitals.”

Dozens of insurgents also attacked a prison in Mastung district, freeing more than 30 prisoners. In other attacks, militants tried to storm the provincial police headquarters in Nushki district, but were repelled.

According to local officials, insurgents hurled a grenade at the office of a government official in Dalbandin district, but were forced to flee after security forces responded quickly.

Pakistani police said attacks on security posts in Balincha, Tump, and Kharan districts were foiled. Meanwhile, in Pasni and Gwadar, insurgents tried to kidnap passengers traveling by bus along highways.

The Baloch Liberation Army is on the US list of terrorist groups. It has been behind many attacks in recent years, and Pakistan says India supports it.

Pakistan has repeatedly said that Baloch separatists, the Pakistani Taliban, and other militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, a claim Kabul denies.

“Terrorists affiliated with the Baloch Liberation Army or other groups have never been so severely suppressed before,” Abdullah Khan, executive director of the Pakistan Institute for Security Studies in Islamabad, told The Associated Press.

Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have stepped up attacks in recent months. The Pakistani Taliban is an independent group but is allied with the Afghan Taliban. The province of Balochistan has long been the scene of an insurgency by separatist groups seeking independence from the central government of Pakistan.