Pakistan marks deadliest year in a decade as militant attacks soar

Government battling Islamist threat and separatist insurgency in restive province

Pakistani security officials inspect the scene of a blast at a railway station in Quetta, the provincial capital of restive Balochistan province, on Nov. 9. (Photo by EPA/Jiji)

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

December 19, 2024 17:30 JST

ISLAMABAD -- When a suicide bomb ripped through the main railway station in the Pakistani city of Quetta last month, it was another grim addition to the country's bloodiest year in nearly a decade.

Pakistan has been rocked by over 750 militant attacks in 2024, fueled by a resurgence in separatist activity in resource-rich Balochistan province and strikes by Taliban-linked Islamists.