Almost 200 dead as Pakistan rocked by worst weekend for insurgent attacks in decades

At least 31 civilians are among almost 200 dead following coordinated insurgent attacks across a southern province in Pakistan,

Balochistan’s chief minister said on Sunday that 31 civilians, 17 members of the security forces and 145 militants had died in raids and attacks on Friday and Saturday.

The spree of what appeared to be coordinated militant attacks involved police stations, a prison, a bank, and paramilitary installations on Saturday. Nearly 100 militants were killed on that day alone, Pakistan’s army said.

“145 terrorists have been killed, and their bodies are in the custody of authorities,” chief minister Sarfaraz Bugti said, adding that the operations were limited and intelligence-based.

“We could have used mortars and heavy firepower, but terrorists hide among civilians. We did not want innocent lives harmed,” he told reporters.

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Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s poorest province, has been embroiled in a decades-long insurgency led by separatists seeking greater autonomy.

While insurgents have routinely targeted security forces in the province, coordinated attacks on this scale have been rare.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it launched an operation dubbed "Black Storm" targeting security forces.

Violence erupted across 12 locations, including in Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki, prompting large-scale counterterrorism operations by army and police units.

The US Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker said Washington stood in solidarity with Pakistan after the attacks.

“The United States remains a steadfast partner of Pakistan in its efforts to ensure peace and stability,” Ms Baker said.

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Pakistan’s military on Saturday claimed the BLA attacks were "Indian-sponsored", which is now a routine allegation in the country’s national security narrative.

India denied the accusation, stating that Islamabad was deflecting attention from its own internal problems.

"We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan," India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He added that Islamabad should instead address "long-standing demands” of the region’s people.

People in Balochistan speak of rampant corruption plaguing the resource-rich but impoverished province.

“Everyone here is corrupt,” one former chief minister of the province told Al Jazeera.

There are also nationalistic sentiments among ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of their natural resources.

“Those who have joined the ranks of terrorists are the responsibility of their families to inform the government,” the province’s chief minister said in a post on X.

“The law will be set in motion against all those whose families did not inform the government about the terrorists who were killed,” Mr Bugti said.