Seven Pakistani soldiers died on Tuesday when their van was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Balochistan’s southwestern province, Pakistan’s military said. The attack, close to Iran and Afghanistan borders, was attributed to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group which was termed by the military as an “Indian proxy,” though evidence was not cited to back up the charge. No immediate reaction has been made by India or the BLA.
AFP reported that the vehicle targeted was one of a security convoy headed for an operation. Five others were wounded and flown to a military hospital in the provincial capital, Quetta.
The attack is in the backdrop of growing tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, after a fatal shootout on April 22 in the Indian-administered Kashmir district of Pahalgam, which killed 26 individuals, including 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese national. India accused the attack on Pakistani-based militants, which Islamabad denied vehemently.
Reiterating, both countries have been escalating diplomatic and military measures in response. Trade has been suspended, airspace closed, and diplomats expelled. India has also suspended a vital water-sharing treaty, and Pakistan has conducted two missile tests within three days.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior Pakistani officials witnessed a high-level security briefing at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters. India, on the other hand, will be holding civil defence drills, including air raid sirens and evacuation drills.
The two nations complained about this at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday. Both nations were called upon by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to show restraint and prevent measures that could escalate into an all-out war, saying that the situation could “easily spin out of control.”
