Dozens killed in ‘coordinated attacks’ in Pakistan

At least 10 Pakistani security personnel and 37 militants were killed on Saturday during what authorities described as coordinated attacks by separatist fighters across the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement that security forces repelled multiple assaults and killed 37 insurgents, while suffering 10 fatalities among their ranks.

Provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind said security forces had killed more than 70 militants across Balochistan over the past two days in operations launched after the attacks.

“Terrorists attempted attacks at several locations, which were thwarted by the police and Frontier Corps through timely action,” Rind said in a post on X.

Provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar said the attacks began almost simultaneously at multiple sites, targeting military installations and government facilities.

The Baloch Liberation Army, the largest militant group operating in the region, claimed responsibility for the assaults in a statement, saying its fighters had targeted security forces, police and civil administration officials.

Most of the attacks were foiled before causing major damage, officials said. Security personnel were seen transporting wounded individuals to hospitals in the provincial capital Quetta.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, borders Afghanistan and Iran and has long been plagued by a separatist insurgency driven by ethnic Baloch militants who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the region’s natural resources while neglecting its development.

Saturday’s violence followed military operations a day earlier in which the army said it had killed 41 insurgents in separate raids in the province.

The insurgency has intensified in recent years. In March 2025, Baloch militants hijacked a passenger train carrying about 450 people, killing dozens in one of the deadliest attacks in the region.

Unrest has also spilled across the border into Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, where Iranian authorities have faced similar militant violence.

Pakistan has repeatedly said it is committed to eliminating militant groups operating in Balochistan, which is strategically important due to Chinese-backed infrastructure and energy projects.