Islamabad, Feb 2: More than 120 people were killed in Pakistan’s Balochistan province following multiple suicide and gun attacks by militants and a swift counter-operation by security forces, officials said, according to a report by The Guardian.
The report said at least 33 people, including civilians, were killed in coordinated suicide and gun attacks across the restive south-western province, while Pakistan’s military claimed it killed 92 militants during retaliatory operations. The military said the attacks targeted civilians, a high-security prison, police stations, and paramilitary installations. Among the dead were 18 civilians, 15 security personnel, and 92 insurgents.
Analysts described the violence as one of the deadliest single days for militants in decades.
Authorities said coordinated attacks of this scale are rare, though Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban frequently target security forces in the region. Officials added that at least 133 militants have been killed across Balochistan over the past 48 hours, including 92 on Saturday alone.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, during which banks were reportedly looted, police stations attacked, and dozens of vehicles set ablaze. The group also released propaganda videos showing female fighters taking part in the assaults.
Pakistan’s military and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi alleged that the attackers were backed by India. New Delhi has previously denied such accusations and had not issued an immediate response.
Shahid Rind, spokesperson for the Balochistan government, said most of the attacks were foiled. He added that the violence followed recent security raids on militant hideouts in the province, in which 41 insurgents were killed.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on social media platform X that security forces were pursuing the attackers and claimed that at least 700 militants had been killed by security forces over the past year.
Earlier, insurgents sabotaged railway tracks, prompting Pakistan Railways to suspend train services from Balochistan to other parts of the country. The attacks reportedly began almost simultaneously across multiple districts, prompting the government to declare an emergency at hospitals.
In Quetta, two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police vehicle, while militants stormed a prison in Mastung district, freeing more than 30 inmates. Attempts to attack paramilitary headquarters in Nushki and other security posts in several districts were repelled by security forces.
The BLA, which is banned in Pakistan and designated a terrorist organization by the United States, has carried out numerous attacks in recent years. Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that militant groups operate from Afghan soil, a claim denied by Kabul.
Experts said militant violence in Balochistan has intensified in recent months amid a long-running insurgency by separatist groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government. (Agencies)
