Attacks by Balochistan militants on strategic targets ended in failure due to the effective response of the security forces, resulting in dozens of victims. The situation in the province remains tense due to major disruptions in transport and services.
Pakistani separatist militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) launched attacks in Balochistan province on Saturday, killing at least ten security personnel and 37 militants. The AFP agency was informed about this by local officials, writes TASR.
- The BLA militant group attacked in Pakistan’s Balochistan.
- Ten security personnel and 37 militants died in the attacks.
- The attacks were coordinated but were repelled by security forces.
- Telephone and transport services were disrupted in the province.
“Terrorists… launched coordinated attacks in more than 12 locations this morning,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “We eliminated 37 terrorists… Ten security personnel were killed and several others were injured,” the official added.
A leading security official based in the provincial capital of Quetta previously confirmed to AFP anonymously that four policemen had been killed in the district of the same name. However, it was not immediately clear if they were included in the aforementioned number of ten dead security personnel.
The attacks failed
Another senior military official based in Islamabad also confirmed the attacks, adding that they were “coordinated but poorly executed”. “(The strikes) failed due to poor planning and the rapid collapse of an effective security response,” the official added.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the security forces for suppressing the attacks. “We will continue the war against terrorism until it is completely eliminated from the country,” he added. Telephone services and transport were disrupted in the affected districts, according to AFP. Train services were suspended across Balochistan province. Militants say their attacks have targeted military installations and police and civilian officials.
The BLA is the strongest and most influential insurgent group in Balochistan, a region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. Its aim is to split this province from the rest of Pakistan. The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused India of supporting the BLA, which New Delhi denies. Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite its mineral wealth, and lags behind the rest of the country in terms of education, employment and economic development, AFP reports.
