What’s behind Pakistan’s deadly Balochistan attacks, which left 74 dead?

The targeted killings of workers from Punjab and security forces point to a dangerous escalation in tensions between separatists and the state, warn analysts.

Numerous attacks have taken place against civilians and law enforcement personnel in Balochistan,

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Islamabad, Pakistan – Nearly two dozen civilians travelling from Pakistan’s Punjab province were pulled from their vehicles and shot dead by armed gunmen, as a series of at least six deadly attacks battered the country’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday night and Monday morning.

At least 74 people were killed in the attacks that marked an escalation in violence even for Balochistan, a region where a decades-long armed separatist movement has meant frequent clashes between fighters and security forces.

The separatist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, said in a statement that it targeted security forces and took control of highways across the province.

The deadliest of the attacks occurred in the Rarasham area of Musakhel district, located near the border between Balochistan and Punjab. According to police, at least 23 people were dragged out of their vehicles, and after their identities as Punjabi migrant workers were established, were executed.

In Kalat district, 140km (87 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta, armed fighters targeted law enforcement personnel, killing at least 10. In Bolan district, southeast of Quetta, six people were killed overnight, including four from Punjab. The Pakistani military, in its statement, said that another five security personnel — 14 in all — were killed across the attacks.

Security forces, the military said, responded and killed “21 terrorists”.

This year has already seen several earlier attacks in Balochistan, targeting civilians, law enforcement personnel and state infrastructure. Still, the latest attacks represent a shift in their scale, audacity and nature, said analysts.

“There was a major attack on security forces in May last year, but today’s events are significant. Highways were blocked, railway tracks damaged, all near Punjab,” Muhammad Amir Rana, a security analyst and director of the Pak Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), told Al Jazeera. “The expansion of their operation is unique, as they are demonstrating their ability to extend the conflict to, or near, Punjab.

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