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 dead.
The announcement on Sunday came a day after the attacks, which began early on Saturday at multiple locations across southwestern 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 on the province, banning public gatherings, demonstrations and limiting traffic movement.
The measures also ban the use of face coverings that conceal the identification of individuals in public places, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Sarfraz Bugti, the provincial chief minister, told reporters in Quetta that troops and police officers responded swiftly to the attacks, killing 145 members of “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a phrase the government uses for the BLA.
The number of fighters killed over the past two days was 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 the “Indian-backed terrorists” wanted to take hostages, but failed to make it to the city centre.
Pakistan’s military said 92 fighters were killed on Saturday, while 41 were killed on Friday.
“We had intelligence reports that this kind of operation was being planned, and as a result of those, we started pre-operations a day before,” Bugti said.
Bugti also accused Afghanistan of backing the assailants, and said senior leaders of the BLA were operating from Afghan territory.
Both New Delhi and Kabul deny the allegations.
‘Baseless allegations’
In a statement on Sunday, India denied the assertion, accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal problems.
“We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” the spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said, adding that Islamabad should instead address the “longstanding demands of its people in the region”.
Balochistan, which is also Pakistan’s poorest province, has faced decades-long violence and separatist attacks by ethnic Baloch seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of the area’s natural resources.
The BLA regularly targets Pakistani security forces and has attacked civilians, including Chinese nationals, who are among thousands working on various projects in the province.
Officials said the latest assaults on Saturday were launched almost simultaneously across the Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki districts, with armed men opening fire at security installations, including a Frontier Corps headquarters, attempting suicide bombings and briefly blocking roads in urban areas.
Outside a damaged shop, private security guard Jamil Ahmed Mashwani said the attackers struck shortly after midday. “They hit me on my face and head,” he said.
‘Audacious operation’
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Baloch capital, Quetta, reported that the BLA targeted at least 12 locations during what he described as an “audacious” operation.
“The attackers were able to strike at the heart of the provincial capital, penetrating the centre of the city while also blocking major highways,” he said.
In Quetta, the aftermath was visible in burnt-out vehicles at a police station, bullet-riddled doors and streets sealed off with yellow tape, as security forces tightened patrols and restricted movement following the attacks.
Businesses were also forced to shutter, with residents telling Al Jazeera they fear more attacks.
According to Pakistan’s junior interior minister, Talal Chaudhry, the attackers dressed as civilians entered hospitals, schools, banks and markets on Saturday before opening fire,
“In each case, the attackers came in dressed as civilians and indiscriminately targeted ordinary people working in shops,” he said, claiming that the fighters also used civilians as human shields.
Pakistani Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif said that two of the attacks involved female fighters. He noted that the attacks were now increasingly targeting civilians, labourers 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 US as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Pakistan has also faced periodic attacks by armed groups elsewhere in the country, including factions linked to the Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.