Pakistan’s military has reported a significant escalation in violence across the restive Balochistan province, culminating in the deaths of 92 militants during intense counter-terrorism operations on Saturday. The coordinated attacks, claimed by the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), targeted multiple urban centers including Quetta, Mastung, and the strategic port city of Gwadar.
According to military statements released through the ISPR media wing, 15 security personnel lost their lives during clearance operations against well-armed insurgents. The violence inflicted severe civilian casualties, with at least 18 non-combatants killed—including women and children—in what authorities describe as targeted attacks on civilian populations.
The provincial capital Quetta witnessed armed militants blocking major thoroughfares and detonating explosives near high-security zones, though authorities subsequently restored order. In Gwadar, assailants stormed a migrant worker encampment, executing 11 laborers in what appeared to be ethnically motivated violence. Security forces responded by eliminating six attackers at the Gwadar site.
A particularly alarming development emerged from Noshki district, where militants abducted the region’s senior civil administrator. The official appeared in a social media video confirming his captivity, though Reuters could not independently verify the footage’s authenticity.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the assaults while praising security forces for preventing militants from seizing any urban centers or strategic installations. The military attributed the coordinated nature of the attacks to terrorist leadership operating from overseas, noting that ringleaders maintained direct communication with operatives throughout the 15-hour engagement.
The violence follows Friday’s military operations that neutralized 41 militants in separate raids, underscoring the persistent instability in this resource-rich region bordering Iran and Afghanistan. Hospitals throughout the province were placed on emergency footing as security forces continued clearance operations into Sunday.