A shelling near a vehicle carrying Pakistani paramilitary troops in the southwestern province of Balochistan killed a soldier and wounded 11 people, mostly civilians, police and security officials said Monday.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place on Sunday.
Pakistan has been fighting an insurgency in Balochistan for more than a decade, with separatists in the province demanding full autonomy or a greater share of the province’s mineral and gas resources.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, as the Pakistani Taliban is known, and other militants also have a presence in the province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
The attack on Sunday took place near the Musa Khan checkpoint in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, local police officer Mohammad Khan said. He did not provide further details.
FUNERAL SERVICE OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN, PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, HELD IN KARACHI, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF MORE THAN 2,500 MOURNERS
Members of a civil society group take part in a rally during a prayer ceremony for the victims of Monday’s suicide bombing in Peshawar, Lahore, Pakistan, on February 4, 2023. (AP Photo/KM Chaudary)
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Shortly after the attack, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. Police and security officials have not confirmed the source of the explosion.
The latest incident comes a week after a suicide bomber killed 101 people at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar, sparking national condemnation and prompting Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to convene a meeting of opposition politicians and their allies to discuss how to respond to the surge. in militant violence.
The conference was initially planned for Tuesday, but was pushed back to Thursday.
Pakistani officials have blamed the TTP, which maintains sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan, for orchestrating the Peshawar bombing. The TTP has denied its involvement. The militant group, however, has intensified its attacks since November, when it ended a ceasefire with the government in Islamabad.
Sharif invited his predecessor and opposition leader Imran Khan to Thursday’s talks, but Khan has yet to confirm his participation.
Since the Peshawar attack, members of civil society groups have held rallies across the country, holding prayer ceremonies for the victims and demanding that the government take action to curb the rise in militant attacks.
