Pakistani security forces have killed at least 145 fighters in the restive Balochistan province in a manhunt launched after a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks that left nearly 50 people died.
Sunday’s announcement came a day after the attacks, which began early Saturday in several locations in southwest Balochistan and left 31 civilians, including five women, and 17 security personnel dead.
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The assault, claimed by the banned separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), prompted authorities to impose months-long security restrictions in the province, banning public gatherings, protests and limiting movement.
The measures also ban the use of masks concealing the identification of individuals in public places, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Sarfraz Bugti, the province’s chief minister, told reporters in Quetta that troops and police responded quickly to the attacks, killing 145 members of “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a term the government uses for the BLA.
The number of fighters killed in the past two days is the highest in decades, he said.
“The bodies of these 145 killed terrorists are in our custody, and some of them are Afghan nationals,” Bugti said. He claimed that “Indian-backed terrorists” wanted to take hostages, but failed to reach the city center.
The Pakistani army said 92 fighters were killed on Saturday and 41 on Friday.
“We received intelligence reports that this type of operation was being prepared and, following that, we started preliminary operations the day before,” Bugti said.
Bugti also accused Afghanistan of supporting the attackers and said senior BLA leaders were operating from Afghan territory.
New Delhi and Kabul deny these allegations.
“Unfounded allegations”
In a statement on Sunday, India denied the claim, accusing Islamabad of diverting attention from its own internal problems.
“We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that Islamabad should instead respond to the “long-standing demands of its people in the region.”
Balochistan, which is also Pakistan’s poorest province, has for decades faced violence and separatist attacks from the Baloch ethnic group seeking greater autonomy and a greater share of the region’s natural resources.
The BLA regularly targets Pakistani security forces and has attacked civilians, including Chinese nationals, who are among the thousands working on various projects in the province.
Officials said Saturday’s latest attacks were launched almost simultaneously in Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki districts, with gunmen opening fire on security installations, including a Frontier Corps headquarters, attempting “suicide attacks and briefly blocking roads in urban areas.”
Outside a damaged store, private security guard Jamil Ahmed Mashwani said the attackers struck shortly after noon. “They hit me in the face and head,” he said.
“Daring operation”
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Baloch capital, Quetta, reported that the BLA targeted at least 12 sites in what he described as a “bold” operation.
“The attackers managed to strike at the heart of the provincial capital, penetrating the center of the city while blocking major highways,” he explained.
In Quetta, the aftermath was visible in burned-out vehicles at a police station, bullet-riddled doors and streets cordoned off with yellow tape, as security forces tightened patrols and restricted movement following the attacks.
Businesses were also forced to close their doors, with residents telling Al Jazeera they feared further attacks.
According to the young Pakistani Minister of the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, the attackers disguised as civilians entered hospitals, schools, banks and markets on Saturday before opening fire.
“In each case, the attackers arrived dressed as civilians and indiscriminately targeted ordinary people working in shops,” he explained, saying the fighters also used civilians as human shields.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said two of the attacks involved female fighters. He noted that attacks now increasingly target civilians, workers and low-income communities.
The United States condemned the attacks, with its charge d’affaires, Natalie Baker, calling them acts of terrorist violence and saying Washington stood in solidarity with Pakistan. The BLA is designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization.
Pakistan has also faced periodic attacks from armed groups elsewhere in the country, including factions linked to the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
