Pakistan: Dozens Killed in Militant Attacks in Baluchistan

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Facts

  • The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic separatist group in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, claimed to have killed 130 military personnel in multiple attacks on Monday. Officials confirmed at least 73 deaths, including of militants.[1][2][3]
  • According to the Pakistani military, 14 soldiers and police officers as well as 21 militants died in the Lasbela district after an attack on a major highway. Five security personnel and five civilians were killed in Kalat, and six unidentified bodies have been found near a targeted railway bridge in Bolan, which connects Pakistan and Iran.[4][2]
  • As part of their so-called 'Fidayeen Operation Herof,' militants also attacked police stations in multiple towns across the province and seized official weapons in Gwadar. They have also set up blockades on major highways.[5][3]
  • Another attack took place on a highway in the Musakhail district, with at least 23 individuals, reportedly from Punjab, forced out of their vehicles and shot dead. Security forces are said to have killed 12 militants in the counter-operation.[6][7]
  • This comes as the BLA warned people to stay away from highways, claiming that their 'fight is against the occupying Pakistani military.' Baluchistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that operations against the separatist insurgents are underway, adding the perpetrators will be 'dealt with a full force.'[8][9]
  • Gas and mineral-rich Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest province by size but it is the nation's least populated and poorest region. The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups seeking independence for the province for decades.[10][11]

Sources: [1]Firstpost, [2]Reuters, [3]The Balochistan Post, [4]Al Jazeera, [5]DAWN.COM, [6]BBC News, [7]Sky News, [8]New York Times, [9]Associated Press, [10]South China Morning Post and [11]WION.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Wire, Al Jazeera and The Times of India. The BLA only targeted military personnel traveling in civilian clothes in Musakhail and killed only soldiers elsewhere. The group is fighting for the rights of the Baloch people and wants to end the province's exploitation. Its fight will continue against the Pakistani government and military until the decades-old injustice, including enforced disappearances, is avenged and a Greater Baluchistan is established.
  • Narrative B, as provided by DAWN.COM, Reuters and Ft. The BLA is a terror outfit that chose to mark Baloch separatist leader Akbar Bugti's death anniversary with an unprecedented vicious, cowardly act on innocent citizens. It's clear that the group wants to create instability and anarchy in Pakistan in sharp contrast to its said claim to uplift the Baloch people. However, the militants must find a different way to express their dissent or face elimination.
  • Narrative C, as provided by The Sunday Guardian Live, Foreign Policy and Voice of America. Pakistan is the leading perpetrator of terrorism as well as its primary victim. It created, fostered, and armed terror outfits to destabilize its neighbors, including India. However, in supporting terrorism, it faced unintended consequences and now bears the brunt of terrorism. Until Pakistan fundamentally alters its behavior and stops harboring terrorists, hundreds of innocent lives will continue to be lost.

Predictions