An allegedly “state-backed” individual was killed in a bomb blast in the industrial city of Hub Chowki on Monday, sources have said.
The blast reportedly occurred in front of the Shakir Hotel, a busy point in the main Hub Chowki Bazar, where a Vigo vehicle laden with explosives was detonated. One individual in the blast radius was killed on the spot. He was identified as Akram Sajidi, a resident of district Awaran. The law enforcement forces immediately cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation in an effort to apprehend the perpetrators.
It is not yet known what incentivized the attack and whether Sajidi was the intended target. The officials have not yet commented on the incident. However, it was widely believed that Akram Sajidi enjoyed the patronage of the Pakistani state and allegedly did its bidding in Balochistan. His supposed connections to the Pakistani state and its army have raised speculations that he might have been targeted by the Baloch “pro-independence” groups active in the region.
These claims were substantiated when the Baloch Liberation Army, the fiercest Baloch “pro-independence” group active throughout Balochistan and beyond, claimed responsibility for Sajidi’s killing in a media statement. The group said that its Special Tactical Operations Squad carried out the attack that killed Akram Sajidi on the spot.
The BLA said Sajidi was “state-backed agent” and ran death squads in Mashkay and in Hub Chowki. He was involved in all kinds of social crimes, like forcibly disappearing innocent women and children; imprisoning, harassing and killing family members of Baloch insurgents and arrogating the land and property of innocent Baloch civilians. The BLA said that such “criminals” of the Baloch nation will not be forgiven.
In district Panjgur, a similar attack was barely evaded when the police found a bomb in the main Chitkan Bazar and neutralized it. According to the officials, the bomb was placed in a busy area in the Bazar for the purpose of “sabotage”, but the plan was foiled.
A vehicle of the security forces was hit with a blast on Sunday in the same Bazar where the vehicle was completely destroyed, two were killed and three security personnel were critically wounded.