A bus carrying security personnel was hit by a roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan’s Balochistan region, killing at least five officers and injuring dozens of others, police have reported. The attack comes on the heels of a recent hijacking of a train that resulted in deaths in the region, only days before.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has taken responsibility for the explosion, which took place in the Noshki district. The separatist outfit was also involved in the recent hijacking of a train that left many dead.
Hashim Momand, the senior superintendent of police for Noshki, confirmed that over 30 members of the paramilitary force sustained injuries in the attack. Another police official, Zafar Zamanani, noted that the blast significantly damaged a nearby bus, with the deceased and injured being rushed to a local hospital for urgent care.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti denounced the attack, showing deep regret over the loss of life. In a formal statement, he cautioned that those who were disturbing the peace in Balochistan would have to pay a heavy price.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, which comes as a growing security crisis grips areas bordering Afghanistan. Local sources told Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder that the attack was on a convoy of a minimum of eight buses carrying security personnel from Noshki to Taftan, close to the Iranian border.
The attack started with an improvised explosive device and then sustained gunfire from the attackers. The death toll has been feared to increase further.
This attack comes after a surprise ambush by the BLA of the Jaffar Express train, where the attackers took about 400 people hostage, and 26 were killed, including soldiers, before security forces managed to step in and neutralize all 33 attackers.
The government of Pakistan has claimed that the recent hijacking of a train was carried out by “terrorists” in contact with “handlers in Afghanistan,” and the blame has been pointed at India as the suspected mastermind behind such activities. Director general of the military’s media wing, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has stated that the main sponsor of terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere is India.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province with an estimated population of 15 million people, has experienced security issues for decades. The province has a multitude of armed groups, of which the BLA demands total independence from Pakistan. Listed as a terrorist organization by both the United States and Pakistan since 2006, the BLA remains a thorn in the state.
Ethnic Baloch citizens have traditionally accused the central government of discrimination, something Islamabad denies strongly. The province, with its extensive natural resources, is grossly underdeveloped.
In neighboring Sindh province bordering Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur decried a string of police attacks across the province. Although no specific casualty figure was given, the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) took responsibility for 16 attacks over a 24-hour period.
Recent violence in the country has claimed the lives of at least two policemen and a private security guard in two different incidents in Karak and Peshawar districts. The nation has seen increased militancy, particularly from entities such as the TTP, whose ideology is aligned with that of the Taliban in Afghanistan. More than 1,500 deaths were recorded last year alone due to such attacks, though the Taliban have maintained they had no role in them.
