Monday, February 2, 2026 - More than 120 people have been killed following a wave of coordinated suicide bombings and gun attacks across Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, according to the country’s military.
Security officials said the attacks left 33 people dead,
including 18 civilians and 15 security personnel on Saturday, while
responding forces killed at least 92 assailants. Analysts described the
violence as the deadliest single day for militants in the province in decades.
The attacks targeted civilians as well as high-security
locations, including police stations, a prison and paramilitary facilities.
Authorities said the scale and coordination of the assaults were unusual, even
in a region long plagued by insurgency. Over the past 48 hours, at least 133
militants were reportedly killed across Balochistan.
Pakistan’s military and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi
accused India of backing the attackers, an allegation New Delhi has repeatedly
denied and did not immediately respond to on this occasion.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for
the violence, which included suicide bombings, armed raids, robberies of banks,
the torching of vehicles and attacks on police infrastructure. The group also
released propaganda videos showing female fighters taking part in the
operations.
Provincial officials said many of the attacks were foiled by
security forces. The violence came a day after the military announced it had
raided two militant hideouts in the region earlier in the week, killing 41
insurgents in separate clashes.
Balochistan’s chief minister said security forces were still
pursuing fleeing militants and claimed hundreds of insurgents had been killed
over the past year. Rail services from the province to other parts of the
country were suspended after militants damaged rail tracks during the attacks.
The violence began almost simultaneously across several
districts. In the provincial capital, Quetta, two police officers were killed
in a grenade attack on a police vehicle, prompting authorities to declare an
emergency at hospitals. In Mastung district, armed men stormed a prison and
freed more than 30 inmates, while an attempted assault on a paramilitary
headquarters in Nushki was repelled.
Other attacks were reported in Dalbandin, Balincha, Tump,
Kharan, Pasni and Gwadar, where militants targeted security posts and attempted
to abduct passengers traveling on highways. Most of these attempts were
thwarted by security forces, officials said.
Security analysts said the sheer number of militants killed
in a single day was unprecedented in the province. The violence highlights a
renewed surge in attacks by Baloch separatist groups and allied militant
organizations, amid long-standing tensions rooted in political grievances,
security operations and demands for greater autonomy.
Balochistan has endured decades of insurgency by separatist
groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government, making it one
of the country’s most volatile regions.
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