Pakistani armed forces continue to hunt for separatists behind a string of attacks in its militancy-hit Balochistan province that Islamabad has tried to pin on India. New Delhi has rubbished the allegations. So far, more than 190 people have been killed in two days, including militants, civilians and security forces.
Troops were seen combing large areas a day after militants stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations, killing at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel, according to the chief minister of Balochistan province.
At least 145 attackers were also killed, he said. That figure includes more than 40 militants that security forces said were killed on Friday.
Mobile internet service across the province remained jammed over the past two days, news agency AFP reported. Road traffic is disrupted and train services suspended.
"Anyone who leaves home has no certainty of returning safe and sound. There is constant fear," Hamdullah, a 39-year-old shopkeeper who goes by one name, told news agency AFP in Quetta.
The typically bustling Quetta, the capital of the province, was quiet on after being rocked by explosions, with major roads and businesses deserted and people staying indoors out of fear.
{{/usCountry}}The typically bustling Quetta, the capital of the province, was quiet on after being rocked by explosions, with major roads and businesses deserted and people staying indoors out of fear.
{{/usCountry}}The Baloch separatist insurgency has been going for decades, ever since Pakistan emerged after the British partitioned India before ending their colonial rule. The Baloch groups claim their culture, language and ethnicity are not accorded respect in a Punjabi-dominated Pakistan.
These groups carry out frequent armed attacks on security forces, and sometimes on foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis, in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Pakistan's poorest province and largest by landmass, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development.
CM Sarfraz Bugti said at a press conference in Quetta that all districts under attack were cleared on Sunday.
"We are chasing them, we will not let them go so easily," he said, "Our blood is not that cheap. We will chase them until their hideouts."
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.
The group, which the United States has designated a terrorist organisation, said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.
Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who flew to Quetta late on Saturday to attend funerals, claimed that the attackers were supported by India — without offering any evidence. Defence minister Khawaja Asif made a similar claim.
India has responded: "We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan, which are nothing but its usual tactics to deflect attention from its own internal failings."
The Indian foreign ministry statement added: “Instead of parroting frivolous claims each time there is a violent incident, it would do better to focus on addressing long-standing demands of its people in the region. Its record of suppression, brutality and violation of human rights is well known."
Baloch separatists accuse Pakistan's government of exploiting the province's natural gas and abundant mineral resources, without benefiting the local population.
The BLA has intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms.
Last year, the separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a deadly two-day siege.