Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that more than 70 people have been killed in attacks by separatist militants in the Balochistan region who wish to “stop CPEC and development projects.”
CPEC is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China’s massive infrastructure construction program in Pakistan.
Sharif told a cabinet meeting that his government must “move forward with a resolute decision” on dealing with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) because “there is no room for any kind of weakness.”
Sharif said the goal of the terrorist group is to “halt Pakistan’s progress, sabotage the development projects under CPEC, and create divisions between Pakistan and China.”
“In Balochistan, the doors for negotiation are always open to those who believe in Pakistan and accept its constitution and flag,” he added.
Sharif and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari issued statements expressing grief over the fatalities and condemning the attackers, who launched a string of assaults beginning on Sunday.
Zardari condemned the militants as “enemies of the country and humanity.”
“The perpetrators of this attack will be given an exemplary punishment. No form of terrorism is acceptable in the country. Our fight against terrorism will continue till the complete elimination of the scourge,” Sharif said in his statement.
The Chinese government also condemned the attacks and offered to “further strengthen counter-terrorism security co-operation with the Pakistani side in order to jointly maintain regional peace and security.”
The BLA, an outlawed separatist group, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for multiple attacks that killed more than 50 people, making it the deadliest day in recent history for the region. Pakistani officials described the attacks as a highly organized operation involving hundreds of terrorist operatives and suicide bombers.
The Pakistani military said 14 of its troops, plus 21 militants, were killed during a battle in which the BLA targeted vehicles on a major highway in the Lasbela district. In other attacks, ten people were killed when the BLA attacked a police outpost, and six corpses were found after a vital railroad bridge was bombed.
The Pakistani military accused the BLA of deliberately executing at least 23 civilians and setting 35 vehicles on fire in one attack. The BLA insisted that all of its targets were military personnel wearing civilian clothes. Pakistani officials said the BLA wants to kill workers employed by CPEC projects.
“We have taken full control of all major highways across Balochistan, blocking them completely,” the group said, warning civilians in Balochistan to avoid the roads while the BLA fights the “occupying Pakistani military.”
The BLA is a separatist militia that was formed about 25 years ago, with the goal of carving an independent “Greater Balochistan” from territory in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Earlier in 2024, Pakistan and Iran took turns bombing each other’s bits of Balochistan.
The most resource-rich territory that Baloch separatists desire lies in Pakistan, and they are particularly incensed by the government in Islamabad teaming up with China to exploit those resources.
The BLA was designated as a terrorist organization and banned by Pakistan in 2006. The U.S. government named the BLA a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2019, condemning the group for attacking civilians and noting that many of its targets are Chinese.
The BLA’s ideology is explicitly Marxist, and its founders were trained by the Soviet Union before its collapse. The BLA is allied with the Pakistani Taliban and supported by the Afghan Taliban, which has reportedly furnished it with American military equipment abandoned by the Biden-Harris administration during its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Regional analysts say the BLA grew significantly more aggressive after the Taliban takeover next door. The BLA also surged in strength after Balochistan’s elections in February, which were widely seen as corrupt.
