Bubbling Over

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Separatist militants killed more than 70 people in a series of “coordinated” attacks in Pakistan’s restive province of Baluchistan, authorities said Monday, marking one of the most widespread assaults by ethnic insurgents in the country for years, Reuters reported.

The violence began over the weekend with militants of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) targeting civilians and policemen across the resource-rich province.

In one of the deadliest incidents, the insurgents stopped vehicles on a major highway, identified passengers based on their ethnic background, in this case from the province of Punjab, and executed them. At least 35 vehicles were set on fire.

Separately, BLA fighters attacked police and security stations in multiple districts, including Kalat, where 10 people were killed.

The armed group also targeted crucial railway infrastructure, with blasts on a rail bridge linking Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, to the rest of Pakistan and neighboring Iran. Rail traffic was suspended following these attacks and six bodies were found near one of the attack sites.

Government and security officials condemned the attack, adding that 14 soldiers and police officers and 21 militants were killed fighting after the highway attack.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi described the assaults as a “well-thought-out plan to create anarchy in Pakistan.”

The BLA attacks specifically targeted ethnic Punjabis this time, who are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan and are perceived as dominating the military, Agence France-Presse wrote.

The group has intensified its attacks on Punjabis, whom they accuse of exploiting Baluchistan’s resources, including targeting and killing Punjabi laborers and barbers in prior attacks. But the group also targets foreigners such as the Chinese, working in the region. The aim is to hurt the province’s economic situation.

Baluchistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area, rich in natural resources like gas and minerals, and home to major China-led projects, such as the strategic deepwater port of Gwadar and gold and copper mining interests.

The BLA and other insurgent groups accuse the central government of exploiting these resources and have called for the province’s secession.

The region has seen an escalation in militant attacks since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with a significant increase in attacks on security forces and civilians.

Last year alone, there were at least 170 militant attacks in Baluchistan, resulting in 151 civilian and 114 security personnel deaths.