Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad
Islamabad, Feb 2: Pakistani security forces killed at least 145 militants following a nearly 40-hour-long counter-operation launched after a wave of coordinated gun and bomb attacks across Balochistan left close to 50 people dead, the province’s chief minister said on Sunday.
The violence marks one of the deadliest flare-ups in years in Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and has long been plagued by insurgency. Militants carried out near-simultaneous attacks in Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki districts, targeting security installations, public places and infrastructure.
Pakistan’s junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry said attackers, dressed as civilians, entered hospitals, schools, banks and markets on Saturday and opened fire indiscriminately. He alleged that militants used civilians as human shields during the assaults.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said 17 law enforcement personnel and 31 civilians were killed in the attacks. According to the military, 92 militants were killed on Saturday and 41 on Friday, making it the highest number of insurgents killed in such a short span since the insurgency intensified.
“We had intelligence reports that this kind of operation was being planned, and as a result, we started pre-operations a day before,” Bugti said.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating it had launched a coordinated operation named “Herof” or “black storm.” The group claimed it killed dozens of security personnel and captured several others, though the claim could not be independently verified.
In Quetta, the aftermath of the violence was visible in burnt vehicles, bullet-riddled buildings and streets cordoned off as security forces tightened patrols and restricted movement. Eyewitnesses reported intense firing and chaos, with several civilians injured in the attacks.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said two of the attacks involved female perpetrators and alleged that militants were increasingly targeting civilians, labourers and low-income communities. The military said security forces had thwarted attempts by militants to seize control of any city or strategic installation.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military linked India to the violence, a claim New Delhi strongly rejected. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India “categorically rejects the baseless allegations,” accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal issues.
The United States condemned the attacks, calling them acts of terrorism, and reiterated its solidarity with Pakistan. The Baloch Liberation Army is designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US.
Balochistan has witnessed a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch groups demanding greater autonomy and a larger share of the province’s natural resources.