The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed of detaining two high-ranking army officers from the Shahrag area of district Bolan in an intelligence-based operation. The group also claimed of shooting down a military chopper sent to rescue the abducted officers, killing the six on board.
The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed in a recent statement that its fighters carried out an intelligence-based operation in Shahrag where they apprehended a junior commissioned officer of the Pakistani army and an intelligence official. The group identified the army officer as Naib Subedar Kaleemullah and the intelligence officer as Muhammad Faisal.
BLA said that the two abductees were involved in numerous crimes and human rights violations in Balochistan, including the “enforced disappearances” and the “kill-and-dump” of innocent Baloch civilians. The armed group said that the detainees would be produced before the Baloch national court and their fate would be decided accordingly.
The group said that they also searched the coal transporting vehicles during the operation. The group said that its fighters had warned the drivers of these vehicles to refrain from being a party to the “exploitation” of Balochistan’s resources and then released them. BLA further claimed that its fighters had shot down a military chopper sent to rescue the abducted officers.
BLA said the security forces had sent a large cadre of soldiers, backed by aerial support, to rescue the detained officers. BLA fighters successfully escaped along with the detained army officers and reached their destination safely, the statement said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also said in a media statement that a military chopper carrying six army officials had crashed near Khost in Harnai, killing all six officials on board. ISPR identified the deceased officials as Major Khurram Shehzad, Major Muhammad Muneeb Afzal, Subedar Abdul Wahid, Sepoy Muhammad Imran, Nail Jalil, and Sepoy Shoaib.
The funeral prayers of the dead soldiers were offered at the Quetta Garrison after which they were sent to their respective hometowns for burial.
ISPR is yet to disclose the details of the crash.
It should be noted that Monday’s alleged chopper crash is the second such incident in two months. On August 1, a Pakistani Army helicopter “crashed” in Balochistan’s Lasbela district, killing all six officers on board, including the Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and Director General Pakistan Coast Guards Major General Amjad Hanif.