Pakistan: Grenade attacks in Balochistan injure 38

Baloch separatists are suspected to be behind two grenade attacks Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province that injured at least 38 people on Thursday. The attacks targeted eateries in Gwadar and Mastung on Thursday evening. The attacks are likely to raise concern about security for the Pakistani section of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which India has objected to since it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, is based around Gwadar port. There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks but police said they suspected the involvement of Baloch separatist responsible for a long-running insurgency in the gas-rich southwestern province. According to police, a grenade was lobbed at a restaurant in Saeed Hasmi Avenue on the Airport Road in the port city of Gwadar while a group of workers was having dinner. At least 26 people were injured in the explosion, Gwadar’s deputy inspector general of police Nadeem Hussain said. According to hospital officials, three critically injured men were shifted to Karachi for treatment. In Mastung, 12 people were injured when a grenade hurled by men riding a motorcycle at Sultan Shaheed Chowk exploded close to a restaurant. Police took the victims, who sustained splinter wounds, to the Civil Hospital in Mastung and Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital on the Quetta-Karachi highway. Mastung district police chief Gulab Khan said two persons were sent to Quetta for treatment because of their severe injuries. He said the attackers managed to escape. The windows of adjoining buildings and shops were smashed by the blast. A case was registered by police. Separatists in Baluchistan, who are opposed to the unfair exploitation of the province’s abundant resources, have targeted energy and infrastructure projects, including Gwadar port. Security officials have said militants trying to disrupt the CPEC have killed more than 50 workers since 2014.