“The terrorists … launched coordinated attacks this morning at more than 12 locations”, a senior security official said on condition of anonymity.
“Thirty-seven terrorists have been eliminated… Ten security personnel were martyred while a few others were injured,” the official added.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
“The co-ordinated gun and suicide attacks are being carried out across Balochistan, mainly in Quetta, Pasni, Mastung, Nushki and Gwadar districts,” the official, based in the provincial capital of Quetta, said.
“At least four policemen were killed in Quetta alone,” he said.
A senior military official based in Islamabad confirmed the attacks, adding they were “co-ordinated but poorly executed”.
The attacks “failed due to poor planning and rapid collapse under effective security response,” the official added.
At least four police officials in as many districts said the situation was not completely under control yet.
Mobile phone services have been jammed and traffic disrupted in the affected districts while train services have been suspended across the province.
The Baloch Liberation Army, the most active militant separatist group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement.
It claimed to have targeted military installations and police and civil administration officials during gun attacks and suicide bombings.
Saturday’s attacks come a day after the military said it had killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, and lags behind the rest of the country in education, employment and economic development.
Baloch separatists have intensified attacks on Pakistanis from neighbouring provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms they believe are exploiting the province’s riches.
Last year, ethnic Baloch separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed. (AFP)