How a Coordinated BLA “Siege” Across Balochan Became Pakan’s Deadliest Day in Decades

Pakani army soldiers and other security officials examine a site following militants attack with guns and grenades, in Quetta, Pakan. (Photo: AP)

Pakan’s security forces killed 145 militants over a 40-hour period following coordinated attacks across Balochan, the province’s chief miner said Sunday, as authorities grapple with one of the deadliest flare-ups in recent years, Reuters reported.

The chief miner said the violence claimed the lives of 17 law enforcement personnel and 31 civilians in the southwestern province.

Earlier, the Associated Press, citing Pakan’s military, reported that militants carried out a series of suicide bombings and gun attacks across Balochan, killing at least 33 people. Security forces, the military said, killed 92 attackers during subsequent counter-operations.

Officials said it was the highest number of militants killed in a single day in the province in decades.The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The attacks began almost at the same time in several dricts, targeting civilians, police stations, a high-security prison and paramilitary installations, officials said.Story continues below this ad

Provincial Health Miner Bakht Muhammad Kakar said two police officers were killed when militants threw a grenade at a police vehicle in Quetta, the provincial capital. Hospitals across the province were placed on emergency footing.

Pakani army soldiers and other security officials examine a site following militants attack with guns and grenades, in Quetta, Pakan. (Photo: AP)

In Mastung drict, dozens of attackers stormed a prison and freed more than 30 inmates, police said. Militants also tried to overrun a paramilitary headquarters in Nushki, but the assault was repelled.

Grenades were thrown at a government office in Dalbandin, forcing attackers to flee after a security response, local officials said. Attempts to attack security posts in several other dricts were also stopped.

Police said militants tried to abduct passengers from buses travelling on highways in Pasni and Gwadar.Story continues below this ad

Rail services from Balochan to other parts of Pakan were suspended after tracks were damaged.

Pakan’s Interior Miner Mohsin Naqvi and the military said the attackers had support from India. There was no immediate response from New Delhi, which has denied similar allegations in the past.

The BLA later released videos showing women taking part in the attacks, which analysts described as propaganda.

Abdullah Khan, head of the Pakan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, told AP that such a large number of militants had “never before been killed in a single day” in Balochan.Story continues below this ad

The BLA is banned in Pakan and led as a terror organisation the United States.

(With inputs from AP)