QUETTA: At least four persons were killed and four others were injured on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion targeted a tribal elder in southwestern Pakistan, a police and government official confirmed.
The blast occurred in Naal, a small town located 55 kilometers from Khuzdar city in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday.
Yasir Iqbal Dashti, Khuzdar deputy commissioner, told Arab News that the explosion was caused by explosives fitted inside a motorcycle. A Baloch tribal elder Samad Sumalani was the target of the attack, Dashti said.
“Four people were killed and four others injured after the IED exploded in a crowded street of Naal town,” Dashti said.
Bahawal Khan Pandrani, the station house officer (SHO) of the Naal Police Station, said unknown persons parked the explosive-laden motorbike near a garage where Sumalani was repairing his vehicle at the Naal Bazaar. Sumalani suffered minor injuries in the attack, he said.
“Two vehicles and two motorbikes caught fire after the blast and turned into ashes,” Pandrani said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatist groups, mainly the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which often target tribal elders they see as backed by the state.
Gas-and-rich Balochistan, which shares porous borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has long faced a low-level insurgency led by separatist groups like the BLA, who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, while neglecting the local population.
Pakistani governments deny these allegations, saying that it has prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education and infrastructure projects.
The BLA has emerged as a significant security threat in recent years, carrying out major attacks in Balochistan and Sindh provinces while targeting security forces, ethnic Punjabis and Chinese nationals working on development projects.
The latest attack in Khuzdar happened two days after a suicide attack targeting Pakistan’s security forces in Balochistan’s Kalat, carried out by a woman, killed one paramilitary soldier and injured four others.
Four killed in southwestern Pakistan as IED explosion targets tribal elder — official
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Four killed in southwestern Pakistan as IED explosion targets tribal elder — official
- IED explosion in Khuzdar district targeted tribal elder Samad Sumalani, say deputy commissioner and police official
- No group has claimed responsibility for attack but suspicion is likely to fall on separatist Baloch Liberation Army
Pakistan police repel militant attack on Bannu checkpoint, five officers injured
- Police say several attackers killed or wounded in overnight assault in northwest Pakistan
- Incident comes amid surge in militant attacks Pakistan blames on Afghanistan-based groups
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police said on Friday they repelled an overnight militant attack on a checkpoint in the northwestern district of Bannu, injuring five officers in an area that has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years.
The attack took place late at night at the Sheikh Landak check post, located within the limits of Huweid police station in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. Police said officers responded swiftly, preventing the attackers from overrunning the post.
Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged since 2021, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan, with security forces frequently targeted. Islamabad says the violence is largely driven by groups it refers to as Fitna Al-Khawarij, a term Pakistani authorities use for militants they say are linked primarily to the Pakistani Taliban and allied factions operating from across the border in Afghanistan. Pakistan has also accused India of backing militant networks involved in attacks, allegations New Delhi denies.
“Late at night, terrorists of Fitna Al-Khawarij carried out a cowardly attack on Sheikh Landak check post,” police said in a statement, adding that officers “displayed full courage, bravery and a timely response, successfully foiling the attack.”
Police said effective retaliatory fire caused “heavy human and material losses” to the attackers, with reports of several militants killed or wounded.
Five police personnel sustained minor injuries during the exchange and were immediately shifted to hospital for treatment, where they are receiving medical care, the statement said.
Following the attack, additional police units were deployed to the area and a search operation was launched to locate any remaining attackers.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government of failing to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation, saying it does not allow its soil to be used against any country.
The accusations have added to tensions between the two neighbors, who have also seen periodic border clashes over the past year.
