Pakistan: Over 250 people killed after separatist attacks

Pakistan flag

More than 250 people have been killed in coordinated attacks launched by separatists across Pakistan’s Balochistan province since Saturday, a security official said on Wednesday, with fighting continuing as government forces pursue the militants.

Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Wednesday that “197 terrorists have been killed in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations”.

He added that at least 36 civilians and 22 security personnel were killed during the coordinated attacks in restive Balochistan.

Sporadic clashes were still taking place in some districts, after militants stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations over the weekend.

The chief minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, told a news conference in Quetta on Sunday that all the districts under attack were cleared.

“We are chasing them, we will not let them go so easily,” he said. Punch