At least 11 killed in bomb blasts in Pakistan’s Balochistan

In the latest episode of violence in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, officials on Friday told AFP that at least 11 people have been killed in two bombings.

For decades, as part of the Baloch self-determination movement against what they call unjust Pakistani occupation, armed Baloch groups have waged an insurgency against the Pakistani rule and there have been frequent clashes between these groups and regime forces.

In the first instance, a suicide bomber on Thursday drove an explosive-laden car into a convoy of paramilitary soldiers in the province’s Dasht town near the border with Iran. Two local government officials said three soldiers were among the five persons killed.

The attack was claimed by Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the leading Baloch group waging the armed movement against the Pakistani rule over Balochistan.

In the second instance, a blast near a border crossing with Afghanistan killed six labourers on Thursday.

Lately, violence has surged in Balochistan as the anger against Pakistan and increasing Chinese presence in the province has continued to rise. Last month, in one attack, at least nine soldiers, including an army captain, were killed. Earlier that month, dozens of fighters launched simultaneous attacks on Pakistani security personnel in various parts of the province and killed at least eight security personnel.

Other than Baloch groups, jihadist groups like the Islamic State have also entered the fray — the Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing in Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, earlier this month in which 15 people were killed.

For decades, Baloch groups waged a movement —including an armed movement— against what they call illegitimate rule by Pakistan over their homeland. Pakistan has responded to the Baloch movement with systematic violence and repression, which has involved forced disappearances and killings of thousands of people activists, critics, and dissidents over the decades. Pakistan has also been linked to deaths of dissidents waging the movement from exile.