Pakistani separatist militants BLA deny involvement in mine attack

KARACHI (Reuters) – The Baloch Liberation Army, a militant separatist group in Pakistan, denied involvement in an attack that killed at least 21 miners and condemned the violence.

Dozens of attackers stormed a cluster of small private coal mines in Pakistan’s restive southwest on Friday with guns, rockets and hand grenades. They killed some miners in their sleep and shot others after they lined up.

“The Baloch Liberation Army condemns the massacre of 21 Pashtun workers in Dukki and makes it clear that our organization has no involvement in this tragic incident,” the BLA said in an email late Saturday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Junaid Coal Co. mines in the mineral-rich Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

It was the worst such attack in weeks and came just days before Pakistan hosts a summit of the Eurasian group Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

A decades-long insurgency by separatist militant groups in Balochistan has led to frequent attacks on the government, army and Chinese interests in the region, prompting demands for a share of mineral-rich resources.

In addition to the separatists, there are also militant Islamists in the region, who have been resurgent since 2022 after a ceasefire with the government was called off.

The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan. It is the largest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have been fighting the South Asian country’s government for decades, saying it is unfairly exploiting Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.

The province is home to important mining projects, including Reko Diq, operated by giant Barrick Gold and considered one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.

At the time of the attack, a delegation from Saudi Arabia, which says it is seeking a stake in the Reko Diq mine, was in Islamabad to explore deals as Pakistan tries to recover from an economic crisis.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam in Islamabad; Writing by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by William Mallard)