The Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for at least one attack, with similar incidents carried out by them in the past.
More than 70 people have been killed in four attacks in southwestern Pakistan's Baluchistan province amid a spate of violence, according to military and police officials.
The country's military said 14 soldiers and police, as well as 21 militants, were killed in fighting after the biggest attack, which targeted vehicles on a major highway in Bela, a town in Lasbela district.
In a separate attack in Musakhel district, local officials said at least 23 civilians were killed and 35 vehicles were torched after the attackers hailed from Punjab.
And in Qalat, 10 people – five police and five civilians – were reported killed after an attack on a police post and a highway.
On the same day, the provincial capital suspended rail traffic with Quetta after blasts on a rail bridge in the town of Bolan, on a rail link with the rest of Pakistan as well as neighboring Iran, said railway official Mohammad Kashif. went
Police said they have so far found six unidentified bodies near the site of the attack on the railway bridge.
Balochistan province has been plagued by insurgency for years, with several armed groups. Rights groups have condemned Pakistan's response to the movement, which they document as enforced disappearances and other forms of state repression.
The attacks along the highway connecting Punjab province came shortly after the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) warned people to stay off the province's highways.
In a statement, the group said its fighters targeted military personnel traveling in civilian clothes, who were shot dead when identified.
However, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said that the dead were innocent civilians.
“Vehicles going to and from Punjab were inspected, and people from Punjab were identified and shot,” Najibullah Kakar, a senior Musa Khel official, told AFP.
The injured were shifted to the nearest major medical facility, Dera Ghazi Khan Hospital.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in separate statements termed the Musakhel attack as barbaric and vowed that the attackers would not stop.
Punjab provincial government spokesperson Uzma Bukhari condemned the attacks as “deeply alarming” and called on the Balochistan provincial government to “step up efforts to eradicate BLA terrorists”.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also promised that the attackers will be brought to justice.
According to local media, 12 rebel fighters were killed by security forces across the province during the last 24 hours.
The BLA has claimed responsibility for similar attacks in Balochistan in the past, such as the killing of seven barbers in Gwadar in May, or the killing of several highway abductees in April.
Armed groups like the BLA in the resource-rich but otherwise impoverished province have separatist aims, often targeting laborers from Punjab who come to the area to work.