A series of gun and bomb attacks across Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province have killed 31 civilians and 17 security service personnel, the region’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti says.
Security forces responding to the violence killed at least 145 attackers, according to Bugti. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) rebel group had earlier said it was behind the attacks, claiming dozens of soldiers were killed.
The escalation is one of the deadliest days of violence in the impoverished province, where Pakistan’s government has been battling an ethnic insurgency for decades.
Pakistan accused India of supporting the BLA. Delhi has repeatedly denied such accusations.
The military said multiple attacks had targeted civilians around the provincial capital Quetta and other locations.
Grenade and gun attacks in 12 cities and towns across the province targeted police and paramilitary installations, as well as prisons and government buildings.
Some key administrative buildings in Quetta and nearby roads were reported to have been sealed off during the day. Mobile phone services were jammed, and regional train services were suspended.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later praised the military, pledging to “continue the war against terrorism until its complete eradication”.
The BLA accuses Pakistan’s federal government of exploiting the rich mineral resources of its largest province without the local population benefiting.
Local activists also blame Pakistani security forces for enforced disappearances, which Islamabad denies.
Balochistan covers nearly 44% of the country’s total land, sharing a volatile border with Iran and Afghanistan and covering part of the Arabian Sea coastline. It is home to about 5% of the country’s more than 240 million people.
The province is also the richest in terms of natural resources, including gas and minerals.
The region derives its name from the Baloch tribe, which is the largest ethnic group there. Resistance against the Pakistani government and an insurgency advocating for an independent state for the Baloch people began in 1948, after Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire.
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