Balochistan Insurgency: Deadly Wave of Militant Attacks Spurs Military Retaliation

In Balochistan, Pakistan, separatist militant attacks on police stations, railway lines, and highways have resulted in at least 51 deaths. The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility, advocating for provincial independence and the expulsion of China. Retaliatory operations by security forces have commenced, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowing justice.

Separatist militant attacks on police stations, railway lines, and highways in Pakistan's restive province of Balochistan have killed at least 51 people, according to officials on Monday. This widespread assault by ethnic insurgents is part of a decades-long struggle to secede the resource-rich province.

In the most significant attack, militants targeted vehicles on a major highway, killing at least 23 people and setting 35 vehicles ablaze. Rail traffic with Quetta was suspended following blasts on a rail bridge linking the provincial capital to the rest of Pakistan, as well as on a rail link to neighboring Iran, railways official Muhammad Kashif reported.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the largest ethnic insurgent group in the region, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement. They aim to expel China and achieve independence for Balochistan, accusing the central government of exploiting the province's natural resources. In response, security forces killed 12 militants, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office promising to bring the perpetrators to justice.

(With inputs from agencies.)