(Corrects to add missing word in headline)
By Ariba Shahid
KARACHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Pakistan’s security forces killed 145 militants over 40 hours after coordinated attacks across Balochistan, the chief minister of the southwestern province said on Sunday, as the authorities battle one of the deadliest flare-ups in years.
The attacks underscore the persistence of insurgents in the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where separatist militant groups have stepped up assaults on security forces, civilians and infrastructure.
The death toll includes militants killed in raids on Friday and Saturday, as well as additional militants killed during ongoing clearance operations, the chief minister of Balochistan, Sarfaraz Bugti, told a press conference in Quetta.
The military had said 92 militants were killed on Saturday.
The latest total is the highest number of militants killed in such a short span since the insurgency intensified, Bugti said, without providing comparative figures.
He also said 17 law enforcement personnel and 31 civilians were killed in the attacks.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, has faced a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.
The banned separatist group Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had launched a coordinated operation dubbed Herof, or “black storm”, targeting security forces across the province.
Pakistan’s military said on Saturday the attacks were carried out by “Indian-sponsored militants”. India, Pakistan’s neighbouring arch rival, denied that assertion on Sunday, accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal problems.
“We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that Islamabad should instead address “long-standing demands of its people in the region”.
The violence erupted across several districts simultaneously, including Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki, prompting large-scale operations by the army, police and counterterrorism units. Hospitals were placed on emergency footing in some areas.
The military said security forces had repelled attempts by militants to seize control of any city or strategic installation.
Pakistan has faced periodic attacks by Islamist militants elsewhere in the country, including factions linked to the Pakistani Taliban.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Additional reporting Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
