Pakistan: 14 security personnel, 23 passengers shot dead by Baloch rebels in multiple attacks across Balochistan

In one of the bloodiest day of violence, at least 14 Pakistani security personnel lost their lives as Baloch rebels carried out multiple coordinated attacks. The attacks began on Sunday (August 25) night and continued on Monday (August 26)  at several places, according to a Dawn report.

In several attacks in the Musakhail area, at least 23 passengers, all Punjabis, were killed by the rebels after ascertaining their identities. The Baloch rebels stopped many vehicles, checked the identities of passengers, separated those hailing from Punjab, and shot them dead. Bodies of four Punjabis were found in Kalat and that takes the toll of ethnic Punjabis alone to 27.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attack, marking it as one of the worst shootings in the region in recent years.

The attacks began late on Sunday night, and were targeted at Levies (akin to Indian Home Guards) and police stations in Mastung, Kalat, Pasni, and Suntsar. These attacks led to numerous casualties among the security forces. Reports of explosions and grenade attacks were received from Sibi, Panjgur, Mastung, Turbat, Bela, and Quetta, with the rebels blowing up a railway track near Mastung.

In Kalat, at least 11 people, including four Levies personnel, were killed and later in the day, six bodies were discovered in Bolan.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement later in the day, saying that 21 rebels had been killed, while 14 security personnel, including four from law enforcement agencies, were martyred during clearance operations. It remains unclear what is the final toll across Balochistan.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that the government had a “good idea” of who orchestrated these attacks and who was responsible. “They have carried out all these attacks in a single day in a clear and well-thought-out manner,” Naqvi asserted. He said that the government was “forming an action plan” to hold talks with the political leadership of Balochistan.

“For politicians with whom talks have to be held, the leadership is forming an action plan,” Naqvi said. “Those who are discontented, we will talk to them and the Federal and provincial governments will take them forward together but under no circumstances will these attackers be called discontented Baloch.”

Attackers ransacked a police station in Suntsar, Gwadar, seizing official weapons. Armed men also took personnel hostage at Levies Thana Khadkocha and engaged in firefights with law enforcement in Kalat.

“Four Levies sepoys — Ahsanullah, Ali Akbar, Rehmatullah, and Nasibullah — were among those martyred in the clashes, while police sub-inspector Huzoor Baksh, a tribal elder, and two civilians were also among those who lost their lives,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Dostain Dashti said.

Kalat Assistant Commissioner Aftab Lasi was injured but is in stable condition, district commissioner Naeem Bazai had earlier said. Clashes were also reported along the Quetta-Karachi highway and these led to its closure, with an emergency declared in hospitals.

Six bodies were found in the Bolan district, with four recovered from under a damaged bridge, according to SSP Dost Mohammad Bugti.

“According to initial reports, all individuals were killed last night,” SSP Bugti told reporters in the Dhadhar city. Out of the six bodies, he said, four were recovered from under a damaged bridge while four were found from Kolpur on the national highway.

According to a list of the victims shared by a police surgeon at Quetta’s Civil Hospital, Dr Ayesha Faiz, of the six victims, four hailed from Punjab.

In separate incidents, at least 23 people were killed in the Musakhail district when armed men forcibly removed passengers from trucks and buses and shot them after verifying their identities on Monday morning, according to an official.

According to Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the district and offloaded passengers from several buses. The perpetrators stopped buses, vans, and trucks, one after the other on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan.

Those killed were reportedly from Punjab, the official said. AC Kakar added that the armed men also set fire to 23 vehicles, including 17 trucks, two passenger vans, and four pick-up vehicles.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attack, marking it as one of the worst shootings in the region in recent years.

According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Monday, 14 soldiers laid their lives in the line of duty.  “During the conduct of operations, fourteen brave sons of soil, including ten security forces soldiers, and four personnel of law enforcement agencies, having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.”

The interior minister said that the government was “forming an action plan” to hold talks with the political leadership of Balochistan.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif said that those in Balochistan fighting the case of missing persons and staging sit-ins there should speak about the unjust bloodshed in the province today. This was obviously an indirect statement aimed at elements of Baloch Yekjehti Committee (BYC) led by Dr Mehrang Baloch who have been protesting against the forced disappearances of the Baloch men.

“Stage your protests, but also show solidarity with those whose loved ones fell victim to terrorism in Balochistan today,” he wrote on X.

This is the second attack of such nature this year. In April, nine passengers were offloaded from a bus near Balochistan’s Noshki city and shot dead after gunmen checked their ID cards.

In October last year, unidentified gunmen had shot dead six Punjabi labourers in Turbat in Balochistan’s Kech district. According to the police, the killings were targeted. All victims belonged to different areas of southern Punjab, suggesting they had been chosen for their ethnic background.