A fresh wave of armed attacks targeted vehicles transporting minerals in Balochistan, with five incidents reported in the Mastung district on Saturday.
According to local sources, three vehicles carrying equipment for the Reko Diq project, one vehicle from the Saindak project, and another transporting minerals from Nushki and Padag for steel mills were attacked.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest incidents. However, similar attacks in recent weeks have been claimed by Baloch nationalist armed groups, who describe such operations as a response to what they call the “looting of Baloch national resources.”
In Mastung alone, 16 vehicles transporting minerals or related equipment have been targeted over the past week. These operations often involve the burning or disabling of vehicles, while drivers—often local—are typically released after being warned not to take part in what the groups call “resource looting.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said it had targeted nine vehicles involved in mineral transport in Mastung, attacking convoys in the Yali area, near Kohinoor Hotel, and at Nawab Hotel. The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) also claimed responsibility for an armed assault on a mineral-loaded vehicle in Chaghi, setting it ablaze after releasing the driver.
The Baloch armed groups say they consider these attacks part of their resistance to what they describe as “colonial plunder” and foreign-backed resource extraction projects such as Reko Diq and Saindak.
The Reko Diq copper-gold mine and the Saindak project—jointly operated by the Pakistani government and foreign investors—have also drawn criticism from Baloch political groups, who argue that local populations receive no benefit from such ventures while bearing the brunt of militarization and displacement.