Pakistan targets Balochistan separatists after ‘unprecedented’ assaults

Pakistan’s security forces have intensified operations in Balochistan after a large-scale assault that killed at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel. The chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, said 145 people he described as militants had been killed in 40 hours and that their bodies were in custody.

The attacks began before dawn when scores of insurgents struck military installations, police stations and banks, blocked main roads, destroyed railway tracks and carried out suicide attacks in Quetta and Gwadar; analysts called the simultaneous strikes in more than 10 cities unprecedented.

The proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility, saying it had killed 84 security personnel, taken 18 officials prisoner and lost seven fighters. Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, travelled to Quetta with Bugti and blamed India for backing the attackers; Delhi denied the allegation.

Pakistan, Balochistan

pakistan, balochistan, balochistan insurgency, separatists, suicide attacks, quetta, gwadar, sarfraz bugti, mohsin naqvi, india