Pakistan’s military has reported a significant escalation in its long-standing conflict with separatist militants in the restive Balochistan province, announcing the elimination of 92 insurgents following a series of coordinated attacks. The violence, which erupted across multiple locations on Saturday, represents one of the deadliest episodes in the region’s decades-long insurgency.
The military’s media wing stated that 15 security personnel and 18 civilians lost their lives during the confrontations. In a development that threatens to further strain regional relations, Pakistani authorities explicitly accused India of supporting the militants—an allegation that New Delhi has consistently denied.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic separatist group fighting for independence, claimed responsibility for the initial assaults, asserting they had inflicted heavy casualties on government forces. Neither side’s claims could be independently verified due to communication restrictions and security constraints in the area.
Security forces implemented comprehensive measures in response to the crisis, sealing key administrative buildings in provincial capital Quetta and blocking surrounding roads. Mobile networks were deliberately disrupted while regional train services remained suspended as precautionary measures.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended military operations, vowing to persist in the ‘war against terrorism until its complete eradication.’ The coordinated militant attacks targeted police installations, paramilitary facilities, government buildings, and prisons across twelve urban centers using grenades and automatic weapons.
The conflict stems from longstanding grievances held by the Baloch people, who accuse the federal government of exploiting the region’s substantial natural resources—including natural gas and minerals—without providing adequate economic benefits to local communities. Additional allegations of enforced disappearances by security forces have further fueled tensions, though Islamabad denies these claims.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area but smallest by population, occupies a strategically crucial position bordering both Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan while boasting an extensive Arabian Sea coastline. The current insurgency has its roots in resistance movements that began shortly after Pakistan gained independence in 1947.