At least 40 people were killed in separate shootings and grenade attacks across Balochistan, officials said on Monday, while 21 terrorists were eliminated and several others were injured as security forces responded to the violence.
Early Monday morning, at least 23 people were killed in the province’s Musakhail district after armed men offloaded passengers from trucks and buses and shot at them after checking their identities, an official said.
Meanwhile, armed men launched attacks on Levies and police stations in Mastung, Kalat, Pasni, and Suntsar late Sunday night, resulting in multiple fatalities. There were also reports of explosions and grenade attacks in Sibi, Panjgur, Mastung, Turbat, Bela, and Quetta. Officials confirmed that the attackers blew up a railway track connecting Pakistan and Iran near Mastung’s bypass area.
The overnight incidents across the Kalat district left 11 people, including security personnel dead, and six injured, according to Kalat Superintendent of Police (SP) Dostain Dashti.
Reports further said that armed men had attacked the Pasni police station and after thrashing personnel, burnt three vehicles and motorcycles parked there.
What we know so far
Another police station in Suntsar, a coastal town of Gwadar, was ransacked and the attackers took away official weapons.
Officials said that armed men attacked Levies Thana Khadkocha and took personnel hostage there, while in Kalat, armed men exchanged fire with law enforcement agencies.
“Four Levies sepoys — Ahsanullah, Ali Akbar, Rehmatullah, and Nasibullah — were among those martyred in the clashes, while police sub-inspector Huzoor Baksh, a tribal elder, and two civilians were also among those who lost their lives,” SP Dashti said.
Kalat Assistant Commissioner Aftab Lasi was injured in an exchange of fire, district commissioner Naeem Bazai had earlier confirmed to Dawn, adding that the official was in stable condition.
SP Dashti said today that another four Levies personnel were also injured. According to the SP, armed men attacked the hotel and house of a tribal person in the Mehlabi area of Kalat, resulting in the death of Malik Zubair Mohammad Hosni.
The clashes occurred along various points of the Quetta-Karachi highway, the SP said, adding that the route has been closed to traffic. An emergency has been imposed in hospitals.
The bodies and the injured have been shifted to Kalat Civil Hospital, said hospital official Ziaur Rehman.
Meanwhile, Kachhi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dost Mohammad Bugti said that six people were shot dead and their bodies were found across the Bolan district.
“According to initial reports, all individuals were killed last night,” SSP Bugti told reporters in the Dhadhar city.
Out of the six bodies, he said, four were recovered from under a damaged bridge while four were found from Kolpur on the national highway.
“The deceased were shot dead. Their identification process has not been completed yet,” the SSP said, adding that the bodies were being shifted to Quetta for further identification process.
In a separate incident, at least 23 people were killed in the Musakhail district when armed men forcibly removed passengers from trucks and buses and shot them after verifying their identities on Monday morning, according to an official.
According to Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the district and offloaded passengers from several buses.
The perpetrators stopped buses, vans, and trucks, one after the other on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan, AC Kakar told AFP.
Those killed were reportedly from Punjab, the official said.
AC Kakar added that the armed men also set fire to 23 vehicles, including 17 trucks, two passenger vans, and four pick-up vehicles.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attack, marking it as one of the worst shootings in the region in recent years.
“We have confirmed [at least] 39 people killed in several coordinated attacks carried out by the BLA terrorists,” Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, told AFP.
According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Monday, 21 terrorists were killed as security forces and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) responded to the attacks, while 14 soldiers laid their lives in the line of duty.
“Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies immediately responded and successfully thwarted the evil design of terrorists and sent twenty-one terrorists to hell in ensuing clearance operations, ensuring security and protection of local populace,” the ISPR said in the statement.
“However, during the conduct of operations, fourteen brave sons of soil, including ten security forces soldiers, and four personnel of law enforcement agencies, having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.”
It said that sanitisation operations are being conducted and the instigators, perpetrators, facilitators, and abettors of these heinous and cowardly acts, targeting innocent civilians, will be brought to justice.
“Security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability, and progress of Balochistan, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.”
Security concerns have heightened after back-to-back incidents of terrorism, including the killing of 23 passengers in Balochistan’s Musakhail after conducting identity checks earlier today.
In a statement issued by his ministry on social media platform X, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vowed to “bring forward the facts along with evidence after investigations” into the attacks.
“These destructive incidents are a conspiracy to create instability in Pakistan. The enemy wants to create anarchy in the country under a well-thought plan,” Naqvi said.
Vowing to take “every possible step” to restore law and order in Balochistan, the minister asserted: “The terrorists and their enablers would not be able to find a place to hide.”
Naqvi further said he was in contact with the Balochistan government and that effective steps were being taken to “maintain an atmosphere of peace” in the province.
“If someone thinks that by such cowardly acts, they can defeat the nation’s unwavering determination, they are mistaken,” Naqvi said.
He added that the law and order situation in Balochistan was being monitored on a regular basis.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attacks and expressed his deep grief on the martyrdom of policemen and Levies personnel.
In a statement, he directed that the wounded be provided with the best medical facilities.
He also ordered that a probe be launched into the attacks to identify and punish the perpetrators.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the terrorism incidents in “Razmik Bazaar, North Waziristan and Kalat.
Conveying his sympathies to the bereaved families, the president vowed in a statement to continue efforts to “completely eradicate terrorism”.
He prayed for the deceased and their families, as well as wished speedy recovery to the injured.
Paying tribute to the martyred security men in a statement issued by his ministry, Naqvi expressed his grief on “five civilians” losing their lives.
“The sacrifices of the martyred will always be remembered,” the interior minister said.
“The enemy is carrying out a heinous conspiracy to create instability in the country. We will thwart the nefarious aims with the power of unity,” he asserted.
This is the second attack of such nature this year. In April, nine passengers were offloaded from a bus near Balochistan’s Noshki city and shot dead after gunmen checked their ID cards.
There were at least 170 militant attacks killing 151 civilians and 114 security personnel in Balochistan last year, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
In October last year, unidentified gunmen fatally shot six labourers hailing from Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan’s Kech district. According to the police, the killings were targeted. All victims belonged to different areas of southern Punjab, suggesting they had been chosen for their ethnic background.
In 2019, gunmen stopped a bus near Ormara near Gwadar district, and shot dead 14 people, including personnel of the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guards, after checking their CNICs.
A similar incident occurred in 2015 when gunmen killed 20 construction workers and injured three others in a pre-dawn attack on a labourers’ camp near Turbat. The victims belonged to Sindh and Punjab.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
Additional input from Nadir Guramani and AFP.
