Kashmir was shaken by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in central Budgam
Islamabad: Pakistani security forces killed 145 people in a 40-hour military operation launched in response to a series of “coordinated” gun and bomb attacks in Balochistan, local media reported, citing provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces killed 92 “terrorists” during the operation, while 15 civilians also lost their lives, the leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.
Chief Minister Bugti said that 17 personnel from various law enforcement agencies, including the police and Frontier Corps, as well as a naval officer, were killed in the attacks. In total, at least 31 people are reported to have died, while many others were injured.
Authorities in Pakistan’s southwestern province are grappling with one of the deadliest waves of violence in recent years, as insurgents in the resource-rich region bordering Iran and Afghanistan have intensified attacks on security forces, civilians, and key infrastructure.
Pakistan’s junior interior minister, Talal Chaudhry, claimed that the attackers, disguised as civilians, infiltrated hospitals, schools, banks, and markets on Saturday and then opened fire.
“In every case, the attackers came dressed in civilian clothes and indiscriminately targeted ordinary people working in shops,” Chaudhry said, adding that the terrorists used civilians as human shields during the attacks.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had launched a coordinated assault called Haroof, or “Black Storm,” targeting security forces in Balochistan.
The group claimed that more than 80 members of Pakistan’s security forces were killed and 18 personnel were taken captive. Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, has been plagued for decades by an insurgency waged by ethnic Baloch separatist groups who are demanding greater autonomy and a larger share of the province’s vast natural resources.
