Kuwait denounces Balochistan attack
KUWAIT: Kuwait has strongly denounced the terrorist attacks that took place in the Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan, which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent people. In a statement on Wednesday, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry expressed the position of Kuwait rejecting violence and terrorism in all its forms, affirming its support for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in all measures it takes to preserve its security and stability. The ministry also expressed Kuwait’s sympathy and condolences to the government of Pakistan and the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, Pakistani forces are searching for separatist militants who killed dozens when they pulled passengers off buses, blew up a bridge and stormed a hotel a day earlier. Militants in Balochistan province took control of a highway and shot dead 23 people, mostly laborers from neighboring Punjab, and attacked the hotel and a railway bridge that connects Balochistan to the rest of Pakistan. Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades in impoverished Balochistan, but the coordinated attacks that took place in several districts throughout the province were one of the worst in the region’s history.
The sites hit were cordoned off as the search for assailants went on. “But no arrests have been made so far, and no additional militants have been killed,” provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind said. The death toll includes 34 civilians and 15 members of the security forces, while the military said troops killed 21 militants. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the attacks were “deplorable”. “In Balochistan, the doors for negotiation are always open to those who believe in Pakistan and accept its constitution and flag,” he said Tuesday as he addressed a cabinet meeting.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant separatist group in the province, said it was responsible for the attacks. The BLA has in the past also targeted Chinese investment interests in the province. Sharif said their “sole aim is to halt Pakistan’s progress, sabotage the development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and create divisions between Pakistan and China.” The BLA is waging a war of independence against the state, which it accuses of unfair exploitation of resources by outsiders in the mineral-rich region. Pakistan’s close ally Saudi Arabia, which hosts a massive Pakistani migrant population, issued a statement condemning the attacks “in the strongest terms.” — Agencies