At least 33 people, including civilians, were killed in a series of coordinated suicide and gun attacks across Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan on Saturday, the military said, while security forces killed 92 assailants during operations responding to the violence. Analysts described it as the deadliest single day for militants in decades.
The attacks targeted civilians, police stations, paramilitary posts, and a high-security prison. According to the military, 18 civilians and 15 security personnel died in the violence, which also involved robberies, vehicle burnings, and destruction of public infrastructure.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the assaults, releasing videos that appeared to show female fighters participating. Authorities said many of the attacks were thwarted by security forces, including an attempted raid on the provincial paramilitary headquarters in Nushki and grenade attacks on police vehicles in Quetta, the provincial capital.
Dozens of insurgents also attacked a prison in Mastung district, freeing more than 30 inmates. Militants attempted to disrupt train services by destroying railway tracks, prompting Pakistan Railways to suspend operations connecting Balochistan to other provinces.
Provincial health officials declared an emergency at hospitals to treat the wounded. Provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said security forces were pursuing the insurgents, noting that more than 700 militants have been killed by authorities over the past year.
The military and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused India of backing the attackers, though New Delhi has consistently denied such allegations. Pakistan has also claimed that Baloch separatists and Taliban-linked militants have used Afghan territory to launch cross-border attacks, a charge denied by Kabul.
Experts said the scale of casualties among militants is unprecedented. Abdullah Khan, managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, told the Associated Press that “terrorists linked to BLA or other groups had never before been killed in such large numbers in a single day” in Balochistan.
The province has long been the site of an insurgency by separatist groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government. In recent months, both the BLA and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) have intensified attacks, highlighting persistent security challenges in the region.
