42 killed in militant attacks this week

Three militant attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have killed 42 civilians and security personnel in four days, the country’s military said yesterday.

Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a televised broadcast the casualties included four civilians as well as police and soldiers — raising the number from nine law enforcement officers confirmed killed on Tuesday.

He said 54 militants had also been killed and signalled further military operations.

“We will hunt you and hurt you everywhere,” Chaudhry said in an address on state television.

He accused arch foe India, with which Pakistan fought a four-day skirmish last year, of backing the militants. New Delhi has previously denied such accusations from Islamabad.

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency for years in Balochistan, where separatist militants target state forces and foreign investment and infrastructure projects in the mineral-rich province that borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Meanwhile, Pakistan located the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane yesterday, the country’s airports authority said, adding that rescuers were searching for five crew on board when the aircraft had gone missing.

The plane was approaching Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when radar showed it “rapidly descending” Tuesday evening after reporting a “navigational system issue”, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).

Pakistan’s navy and maritime rescue agency, after searching for 12 hours, “successfully located and identified wreckage of K2 Airways Cargo B737 which was declared missing last night”, the PAA said.