Coordinated assaults by suspected separatists across Pakistan’s Balochistan province have left at least 15 security personnel and 18 civilians dead, prompting a massive military response that killed 92 militants, according to Pakistani officials. The attacks, which began around 3 a.m. local time on Saturday and targeted more than 12 locations, mark one of the deadliest episodes in the region’s long-running insurgency.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the strikes, asserting it had launched simultaneous operations across nine districts using gunfire and suicide bombings. The group targeted military sites, police stations, and civil officials, and claimed to have killed 84 Pakistani security personnel. Pakistan’s military characterized the attacks as coordinated but poorly executed, stating they collapsed quickly under an effective security response.
Multiple Locations Targeted
Armed militants struck several major urban centers including Quetta, the provincial capital, and the strategically important coastal city of Gwadar. In Quetta, multiple police stations came under assault, while armed individuals briefly obstructed roads and an explosion occurred near a high-security zone before authorities regained control. Two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police vehicle in the capital.
The situation in Gwadar proved particularly deadly when militants attacked a camp housing migrant laborers, killing 11 people including five men, three women, and three children. Security forces killed six militants in response to that assault. Hospitals in affected districts were placed on high alert, and Pakistan Railways suspended train services from Balochistan after insurgents destroyed rail tracks.
Civil Administrator Kidnapped
A critical situation developed in Noshki district after militants kidnapped the region’s top civil administrator. The official posted a video on social media claiming he was being held by the militants, though Reuters was unable to independently verify the video’s authenticity. The incident highlights the boldness of the coordinated operation across the sprawling southwestern province.
Twenty-four police officers sustained injuries during the violence, which prompted an emergency declaration at all hospitals by provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar. The attacks represented the second phase of what the Baloch Liberation Army calls Operation Herof, with the group releasing videos showing female fighters taking part in the assaults.
Escalating Violence
The Saturday attacks occurred just one day after Pakistan’s military announced it had killed 41 militants in separate operations within Balochistan. Combined with the 92 militants killed on Saturday, authorities reported a total of 133 militants eliminated across the province over a 48-hour period.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised security forces for their response while claiming the attacks were carried out by what the government calls Fitna al-Hindustan, an Indian-backed force. Both Naqvi and the military accused India of supporting the militants, a charge that New Delhi has consistently denied. The Baloch Liberation Army is designated as a terrorist organization by both Pakistan and the United States.
Regional Context
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but most sparsely populated and poorest province, despite being rich in minerals and energy resources. The region has faced a decades-long separatist insurgency by ethnic Baloch militant groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad. Its long borders with Iran and Afghanistan have historically made it vulnerable to insurgent movements.
Though Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban frequently target security forces in the province, coordinated attacks on this scale are rare. Pakistan has repeatedly accused militant groups of using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan, a claim that Kabul denies. The violence underscores the persistence of the separatist insurgency and the ongoing security challenge facing Pakistan’s southwest.
