(Kolpur) Rail and road traffic was cut on Tuesday on a key route in southwest Pakistan after a series of attacks by Baloch separatists destroyed a railway bridge and killed dozens of people overnight from Sunday to Monday.
The colonial-era bridge, a key crossing point between Balochistan province and the rest of Pakistan, was destroyed in the dawn attacks on Monday. Part of the railway track blocked the road it fell onto, while another was hanging from a damaged pillar.
In their attacks, the separatist militants took control of a highway and killed six people working there, including six, near the Kolpur railway bridge, after their identity papers were checked by the rebels, government officials said.
“Explosives were used to attack our main bridge yesterday, which prevented trains from reaching other parts of the country,” Muhammad Kashif, a Balochistan railway official, told AFP.
“We are trying to clear the road as quickly as possible to facilitate traffic for users,” he said. However, he acknowledged that he did not know “how long it will take to rebuild the Bolan bridge.”
On Tuesday, the rails and debris from the bridge that were blocking the road were being cleared.
“It’s a steep mountainous region and it’s normal to be afraid, but the journey must continue. We often pass here in convoys of three to four vehicles,” a truck driver from neighbouring Sindh province told AFP as he waited for the road to reopen.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which claimed responsibility for the attacks, is demanding control of the province’s gas and mineral resources, which the separatists say are being exploited abusively by foreign companies.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s poorest province, lagging behind the rest of the country.
The ALB’s operations primarily targeted Punjabis, who are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan.
Security forces have been battling armed separatists in Balochistan for decades, but the rebels’ latest coordinated attacks have been among the most violent.