Balochistan: Armed group claims responsibility for attack on police station in Quetta

Quetta [Balochistan], April 2 : An incident involving unidentified assailants attacking a security establishment was reported in Quetta, Balochistan, as per a report by the Balochistan Post.
According to the report, a police station located in the Sariab area of Quetta was targeted by unidentified assailants using a grenade blast.
The Balochistan Post report further quotes a statement by Dostain Baloch, the spokesperson for the Baloch Republican Guards, who claimed responsibility for the attack. He stated that their fighters targeted the "occupying" Pakistani police force in Quetta on Sunday evening.
Dostain also mentioned that their group had attacked the police station, resulting in one police officer sustaining significant injuries and major damage to vehicles and property.
Such incidents underscore the security challenges prevailing in Balochistan, where Baloch pro-independence armed groups often target security forces and government installations as part of their insurgency against the Pakistani state, the Balochistan Post report noted.
Previously, a major attack was orchestrated by armed assailants who entered Pakistan's Gwadar Port Authority Complex, according to a statement given by Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani. Following the attack and the reported open firing on the port, a large contingent of police and security forces arrived at the scene while intense firing was ongoing.
At that time, the Majeed Brigade of the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
In November, 14 Pakistan Army soldiers were killed after militants attacked two vehicles of security forces in Gwadar. The military vehicles came under attack while moving from Pasni to Ormara in the coastal district.
According to a security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies last month, Pakistan experienced 97 militant attacks in February, resulting in 87 fatalities and 118 injuries.
The report highlighted a significant escalation in violence in Balochistan, juxtaposed with a decline in tribal districts and mainland KP. Security forces foiled an attack on the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) complex and killed the eight attackers, as reported by The Express Tribune citing sources.