Armed insurgents in Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan province killed at least 23 people in a spate of attacks on Sunday night and Monday morning, in the deadliest surge of separatist violence in the country in decades.
The Baloch Liberation Army, an armed separatist group in the mineral-rich province, claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement released by the organisation on Monday.
Militants from the group stopped buses on a highway in Balochistan overnight on Sunday, demanding identification cards from passengers and shooting those from the heartland province of Punjab, which is the home of most of Pakistan’s population of 240mn, according to officials. Some of the buses were also set on fire, videos from the scene showed.