Pakistan has intensified security operations in Balochistan after a wave of coordinated suicide bombings and armed assaults left dozens dead across the province, a day after authorities said calm had largely returned to the region.
Security officials said the raids targeted separatist militants following attacks in at least 10 cities, including Quetta and the port town of Gwadar. At least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel were killed in the violence. Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti reportedly said security forces had killed 145 suspected militants within 40 hours of the attacks, with bodies taken into official custody.
The assaults began before dawn on Saturday, when heavily armed groups struck police stations, military facilities, banks and transport infrastructure. Rail tracks were damaged, roads were blocked, and suicide bombers hit sensitive areas in Quetta, including the city’s high-security zone near government offices.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks and alleged heavy casualties among security forces, claims that could not be independently verified.
Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Quetta to meet victims’ families and review the situation. He accused India of backing the militants, a charge New Delhi rejected. Mobile internet services remain suspended in Quetta, Gwadar and other towns as security forces continue search and clearance operations.
According to reporting by The Guardian, video footage circulating online showed militants moving openly through parts of Quetta, attacking buildings and vehicles. Local officials also confirmed a suicide car bombing near the city’s administrative district that killed senior police officers.
Defence minister Khawaja Asif said security forces were conducting “mopping-up operations” and insisted that order had been restored. The latest violence has revived concerns over the long-running Baloch insurgency, which dates back decades and has intensified in recent years despite official claims that it had been brought under control.
