Pakistan PM approves military operation against separatists following surge in violence in southwest

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Prime Minister has approved an anticipated comprehensive military operation against separatist groups in the country’s restive southwest. Tuesday’s announcement by Shehbaz Sharif came more than a week after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Quetta train station, killing 26 people, mostly soldiers. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army group claimed the Nov. 9 attack in the capital of Balochistan province. In recent months, Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces have witnessed a surge in militant violence. In a statement, Sharif’s office said the BLA and other groups will be targeted. It didn’t say when the operation would begin.