The terrorist attacks in Pakistan
More than 70 people have been killed in separate attacks by militants on police stations, railways and highways in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, officials said on Monday. It was the deadliest militant attack in Balochistan in years.
In one incident in Musakhel district, gunmen forced passengers off a bus and checked their identities. Senior Superintendent of Police Ayub Khoso said they were fired upon. At least 23 people were killed. Most of the dead were from southern Punjab and some from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Khoso said, adding that they might have been killed on ethnic grounds.
He has targeted Punjabis in Balochistan in the past. In another incident, gunmen killed 10 people, including four police officers, in Qalat district. Along with the killings, the militants also targeted communication facilities. They torched 35 vehicles, including trucks, on the Musakhel highway. The truck was carrying coal. The blast blew up a railway bridge connecting Quetta with the rest of Pakistan. A railway official, Muhammad Kashif, said a railway line between Balochistan and Iran had also been blown up.
The raids, which began after midnight on Saturday, continued on Sunday and Monday. The Pakistan Army claimed that 21 terrorists were killed in the retaliatory fire. There were 14 police officers and a firefighter on duty.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the attack.
The Importance of Balochistan to Pakistan
• A region rich in natural resources
• A number of projects in China
Projects include the strategically important Gwadar Port, gold and copper mines.
These terrorist attacks have been carried out under a well thought out plan to create chaos in Pakistan. "- Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's interior minister