Dozens killed in Pakistan separatist attacks
At least 73 people, including 14 security forces, were killed in Pakistan’s Balochistan province after armed separatists attacked several targets across the area.
The Balochistan Liberation Army, a banned group in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attacks, which began overnight on Sunday and lasted until the following day. The BLA said this was the first such action by 800 of the group’s fighters, and warned Islamabad that the second round would be “even more intense and widespread.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the southwestern province on Tuesday, a day after separatist fighters struck railway lines, highways, and police stations.
The Baloch populations of both Pakistan and neighbouring Iran have been leading decades-long resistance movements against Islamabad and Tehran. Baloch communities in both countries have long accused the governments of Iran and Pakistan of denying them autonomy and attempting to plunder their resources.
The resistance groups on both sides of the border are classified as “terrorist” groups by both Islamic republics.
Last January, Iran launched missile attacks on the Pakistani side of Balochistan, claiming an “Iranian terrorist group” was operating out of the province. Pakistan later responded with its own strikes on Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, which Islamabad also claimed was targeting “terrorist hideouts.”
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