Suspected Militants Hurl Grenade at Flag Store in Baluchistan

Suspected militants on a motorcycle attacked a store selling Pakistani national flags in Baluchistan, killing one and injuring six. The attack came amid warnings from a separatist group and ahead of Pakistan's 77th Independence Day. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Suspected militants riding on a motorcycle hurled a hand grenade at a store selling Pakistani national flags in the restive southwestern Baluchistan province on Tuesday, killing at least one person and wounding six others ahead of Pakistan's 77th independence day.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Liaquat Bazar in Quetta, the provincial capital.

Wasim Baig, a spokesman at a government hospital, confirmed they received six injured individuals and one fatality.

The attack follows a separatist group in Baluchistan's warning against selling Pakistan's national flags. The Baluch Liberation Army also cautioned against celebrating Pakistan's Independence Day on August 14.

Separatists in Baluchistan have been engaged in a long-standing insurgency for independence from the central government. Although Pakistan asserts the insurgency has been subdued, there has been a recent surge in violence. The province shares a border with Afghanistan, where cross-border attacks from Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups frequently occur.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, militants attacked security forces in South Waziristan, a former Taliban stronghold in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. No immediate comment was available from officials regarding this attack.

Pakistan has seen a rise in militant attacks, with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan often claiming responsibility. The group has gained momentum since the Afghan Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.