Separatists launched “coordinated” attacks across Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday, killing at least 15 security personnel and 18 civilians, the military said — the latest violence in the insurgency-hit south-western region.
Officials said 92 militants, including “three suicide bombers”, were also killed.
Pakistan has battled a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, with frequent attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-locals in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The military’s media wing said attacks took place in multiple locations, including the provincial capital, Quetta and the port city of Gwadar.
“Eighteen innocent civilians and 15 security personnel were killed,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, putting the death toll among militants at 92. The circumstances surrounding the civilians’ deaths were not immediately clear.
Baloch separatists have previously targeted civilians believed to have collaborated with state agencies.
A senior military official in Islamabad described the attacks as “coordinated but poorly executed”, adding that they had “failed due to poor planning and rapid collapse under effective security response. ”
Explosions one after another
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for “foiling” the attacks.
“We will continue the war against terrorism until its complete eradication,” he said, accusing India of backing the separatists.
Police officials in four districts told AFP that the attacks were not yet fully under control.
In Quetta, an AFP journalist heard several explosions as heavy security was deployed across the city, with major roads deserted and businesses closed.
“Since morning, there have been explosions one after another,” said Abdul Wali, 38, who was trying to find blood for his hospitalised mother.
“The police point guns at us and say, ‘Go back,’ otherwise they beat us. What should we do?”
A senior official in Quetta said militants had abducted a deputy district commissioner. Another official in a different district reported that militants had “freed at least 30 inmates from a district jail, seizing firearms and ammunition. They also attacked a police station and took more ammunition.”
Mobile phone services were disrupted and traffic brought to a halt in the affected districts, while train services were suspended across the province.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant separatist group in the region, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.
Suicide bombings
The group said it had targeted military installations, police and civil administration officials through gun attacks and suicide bombings. Major highways were blocked to disrupt military operations. Several women were reportedly involved in the attacks, according to BLA statements and released videos.
Saturday’s violence came a day after the military said it had killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.
“Over the past 12 months, security forces in Balochistan have sent more than 700 terrorists to hell, with around 70 terrorists eliminated in just the last two days alone,” said Sarfraz Bugti, Balochistan’s chief minister. “These attacks cannot weaken our resolve against terrorism.”
Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite its abundance of untapped natural resources, and lags behind the rest of the country in education, employment and economic development.
Separatists have increasingly targeted Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region, as well as foreign energy firms they accuse of exploiting its wealth.
Last year, militants attacked a train carrying 450 passengers, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens were killed. In August 2024, they carried out assaults across the province, blowing up bridges, storming hotels and targeting security installations, killing dozens.
