Pakistan Army hit hard as Balochistan separatists kill its 50 members

The biggest separatist assault of the decade on Pakistani assets in Balochistan has killed at least 50 members of Pakistani armed forces while 10 others are injured, WION has learnt from sources on the ground.

On Monday (Aug 26), a 'coordinated' spree of separatist attacks on police stations, railway lines, and vehicles on highways rocked Balochistan, a restive region bordering Iran and Afghanistan. Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the attacks in email to various media groups in and beyond Pakistan.

The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the central government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan's gas and mineral resources. It seeks the expulsion of China and independence for the province.

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Armed separatists in Balochistan along with the BLA have fought a decades-long ethnic insurgency to demand the secession of the resource-rich southwestern province.

Balochistan is home to several major China-led projects, including a strategic port and a gold and copper mine.

Balochistan separatist attacks: Casualty figures

Apart from 50 members of the Pakistani army, a local policeman was killed during Monday's attack while one other was injured.

WION has learnt that a total of four levies were killed and six levies were injured.

A total of 33 vehicles were torched and the Pakistani forces killed 13 "miscreants".

The maximum number of armed personnel were killed in Lasbella, a coastal town about 700 km south of the provincial capital Quetta. In Lasbella, 40 members of Pakistani armed personnel were killed and 10 others were injured.

In Kachhi, ten members of Pakistani armed personnel were killed.

A maximum number of civilians were killed in Mushakhel, where separatists offloaded a bus and targeted citizens hailing from Pakistan's Punjab province. A total of 23 citizens were killed in this attack and two were injured.

Balochistan separatist attacks: What does it mean?

Balochistan's Gwadar is the culmination of the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) opposed by armed and unarmed Baloch leaders.

A number of projects are under construction as part of the Special Economic Zones.

At least a dozen Chinese engineers have been killed in attacks in recent years which Pakistan has blamed on militant entities purportedly based out of Afghanistan.

In May 2024, Pakistani authorities said they arrested 11 Islamist militants who were involved in the suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers in March.

The latest surge in militancy, although largely symptomatic of festering separatism in Balochistan, is also influenced against Chinese presence in the region.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned Monday's incidents and expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the acts.

Chief Minister Bugti said, "The terrorists and their facilitators will not be able to escape an exemplary end."

Besides, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed that security forces would retaliate and bring those responsible to justice.

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said, "The terrorists showed brutality by targeting innocent passengers near Musakhail. The terrorists and their facilitators will not be able to escape an exemplary end."

(With inputs from agencies)