More than 50 people were killed in militant attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan.

QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 26 (Reuters) – At least 51 people were killed in Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways and security forces retaliated, officials said. Told on Monday.

The most widespread attack by the ethnic rebels in years is part of a decades-long effort to gain secession from the resource-rich southwestern province, which has been targeted for major Chinese-led projects such as a strategic port and gold and copper mines. is the house of

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement, “These attacks are a well-thought-out plan to spread chaos in Pakistan,” adding that security forces had killed 12 militants in operations following the attacks on Sunday and Monday. was

The largest of the attacks targeted vehicles ranging from buses to freight trucks on a major highway, killing at least 23 people and setting 35 vehicles ablaze, officials said.

Rail traffic with Quetta has been suspended following blasts on a rail bridge connecting the provincial capital to the rest of Pakistan, as well as on a rail link with neighboring Iran, said railway official Mohammad Kashif. was given

Police said they have so far found six unidentified bodies near the site of the attack on the railway bridge.

Militants also targeted police and security stations in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province, in an attack that killed at least 10 people, officials said.

The BLA is the largest of several ethnic rebel groups that have been fighting the central government for decades, saying it illegally exploits Balochistan's gas and mineral resources. It wants the ouster of China and the independence of the province.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed that the security forces would retaliate and bring those responsible to justice.

General Li Qiaoming, commander of China's People's Liberation Army Ground Forces, and Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir met on Monday, although the Pakistani military's statement made no mention of the attacks.

“The meeting provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions on issues of mutual interest, regional security, military training and measures to further enhance bilateral defense cooperation,” it said.

Passengers were killed.

Ayub Achakzai, a senior superintendent of police, told Reuters that gunmen blocked a highway in Balochistan on Sunday night, forced passengers out of vehicles and shot them after checking their identity cards.

35 vehicles including trucks were set on fire on the highway in Musakhel area.

“The gunmen not only killed the passengers but also the drivers of the coal-carrying trucks,” said Hamid Zahir, deputy commissioner of the area.

Militants have targeted workers in the eastern province of Punjab whom they see as exploiting their resources.

In the past, they have also attacked Chinese interests and civilians in the province, where China operates the strategic southern deep-water port of Gwadar, as well as gold and copper mines to its west.

The BLA said its fighters targeted military personnel traveling in civilian clothes, who were shot after being identified.

The Interior Ministry of Pakistan said that the dead were innocent civilians.

Police official Dostin Khan Dashti said that six security personnel, three civilians and a tribal elder were killed in clashes with armed militants who attacked a station of Balochistan Levies in the central district of Kalat.

Officials said police stations in two southern coastal towns were also attacked, but casualties were not yet confirmed.

Balochistan, which shares borders with both Iran and Afghanistan, is Pakistan's largest province by area, but is the least populated and largely underdeveloped, with high levels of poverty.

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