Pakistan’s military reported that coordinated suicide bombings and gun assaults throughout the southwestern province of Balochistan resulted in the deaths of at least 33 individuals on Saturday. In response to the violence, security forces eliminated 92 militants, marking what analysts have termed the deadliest single day for insurgents in decades.
The military indicated that the attacks were aimed at civilians, police stations, a high-security prison, rail infrastructure, and paramilitary facilities. Among the deceased were 18 civilians and 15 security personnel. Authorities noted that over the last 48 hours, at least 133 militants have been killed throughout the province.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for the attacks, which occurred almost simultaneously across various districts. Provincial officials reported that several attacks were thwarted, although militants succeeded in damaging rail tracks, leading Pakistan Railways to halt services between Balochistan and other regions of the country.
In Quetta, the provincial capital, two police officers lost their lives in a grenade attack on a police vehicle, as stated by provincial health minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar. Additionally, numerous insurgents assaulted a prison in the Mastung district, resulting in the escape of over 30 inmates, according to police reports. Other attempted attacks on paramilitary headquarters in Nushki and government offices in Dalbandin were successfully repelled by security forces.
Authorities reported that militants attempted to kidnap passengers from buses traveling on highways in coastal regions, including Pasni and Gwadar, while assaults on security posts in various other locations were successfully prevented. The provincial government declared a state of emergency at hospitals as ambulances and security personnel responded to the outbreak of violence.
Pakistan’s military and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi have accused India of supporting the attackers, a claim that New Delhi has consistently refuted. There was no prompt reply from Indian officials.
The BLA, which is prohibited in Pakistan and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, released footage featuring female combatants involved in the assaults, which analysts interpreted as a propaganda initiative. The group has executed numerous attacks in Balochistan over the past few years.
Abdullah Khan, managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, stated that militants associated with the BLA and its allied factions “had never previously been killed in such significant numbers in a single day” within the province.
Balochistan has been enduring a separatist insurgency that seeks independence from Pakistan’s central authority. In recent months, violence has escalated, with Baloch militant factions and the Pakistani Taliban increasing their assaults on security forces and infrastructure.
