ISLAMABAD: The United States reaffirms its support for Pakistan after deadly separatist attacks that killed over 50 people in the southwestern Balochistan province last week, the State Department said on Friday.
Mineral-rich Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a decades-long insurgency waged by Baloch separatist groups who often attack security forces, foreigners and non-local Pakistanis and kidnap government officials.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which the US has designated as a “terrorist organization,” claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks in multiple districts across Balochistan last Saturday in one of the deadliest flare-ups in the region in recent years.
“We stand steadfast with Pakistan in the wake of recent militant attacks in Balochistan,” the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) said on X.
“The Balochistan Liberation Army remains a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and we support efforts to hold the perpetrators of these horrific attacks accountable.”
The statement came hours after Pakistan’s military said it had killed 216 militants in a broader series of intelligence-based operations in Balochistan. It said 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed by militants, while 22 security forces and law enforcement personnel also lost their lives.
“Preliminary analysis indicates systematic external facilitation and logistical support to these extremist proxies,” the Pakistani military said in a statement.
Islamabad has blamed the attacks on India, an allegation denied by New Delhi.
Balochistan is home to vast reserves of minerals and hydrocarbons. Separatist militant groups such as the BLA blame Islamabad for exploiting Balochistan’s natural resources and denying locals a share in them. The military and civilian government reject these allegations and say they are investing in the province’s development.
