8 killed, dozens injured in attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: A wave of violence swept through Balochistan, with a bomb blast shaking the province’s capital of Quetta Thursday following the overnight targeted killing of five non-Baloch passengers on a highway in Gwadar, intensifying growing unrest in Pakistan’s southwest.
The blast occurred near a police vehicle and left three dead and 21 injured, including several police personnel. The blast follows a pattern of violence in the province, where separatist groups like Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have increased attacks against security forces and civilians perceived as outsiders.
Just hours before the Quetta blast, a separate incident unfolded in Gwadar’s Kalmat area where suspected Baloch insurgents reportedly set up roadblocks, singled out five Punjabi passengers, and executed them. Moreover, three long-body trailers carrying urea from Gwadar port were also set on fire.
The Gwadar killings come soon after an attack in Turbat where five people, women and children, were injured in hand grenade assaults.
President Asif Zardari and PM Shehbaz Sharif condemned the violence, linking it to the $62-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a project often targeted by separatists. The wave of violence follows the March 11 train hijacking by the BLA, which exposed security weaknesses. Roadblocks now disrupt the region, while the arrest of activist Mahrang Baloch and a long march called by Akhtar Mengal on March 28 point to a state leaning on force over solutions.