The Pakistani security forces have continued their military operation in Balochistan’s Bolan district and its neighboring areas for the eighth consecutive day. The operation, which was launched after a major attack by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in Mach, Bolan, has been met with widespread condemnation by Baloch activists, nationalists, and political parties.
The security forces are advancing into the civilian settlements, aided by gunship helicopters and surveillance drones. Local sources have reported enforced disappearances, arson, and the theft of cattle by the Pakistani forces.
According to reports, the military operation has expanded from Bolan to the adjacent regions of Sibbi, Harnai, and Mach, and their surroundings. The security forces have reportedly set up makeshift camps and blocked the transport routes in and out of Bolan.
Local sources have revealed that they heard violent explosions and firing coming from Shaban, near Sibbi, but these reports are yet to be verified.
The sources have also reported that the indigenous populations have been trapped in their homes, as the areas are under siege. In the past few days, the forces have also illegally detained several women and children from Shaban, who are yet to be freed, the sources said. The forces have also detained six individuals of the Pashtun Waraich tribe in the mountainous regions of Harnai, who were reportedly transferred to Harnai jail for interrogation. There is no news on these individuals so far.
It should be noted that the security forces have reportedly detained shepherds, confiscated their cattle, and also set fire to the sporadic forests that the herds graze on.
The forces have also set fire to houses during the operation. Local sources revealed that on Tuesday, the forces set fire to the residence of a local named Ali Ahmad in Sanjawal, Thalang area.
The military operation, which comes in the wake of a massive attack in Mach, Bolan, by the BLA, where the group seized Mach for two days, has raised concerns over the ramifications of the operation.
Mama Qadeer Baloch, a veteran activist and the vice-chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, an advocacy group demanding the safe release of Baloch missing persons, said that the forces have launched a ‘bloody operation’ in Balochistan, starting from the Makran and Bolan region.
The National Democratic Party (NDP), a Pashtun nationalist party, also condemned the military operation in Bolan. The group said that the security forces have laid siege to Bolan and its neighboring regions, which has restricted the people’s access to food and medications.
The group said that several individuals have been disappeared, people have been forced to stay in their homes, homes have been arsoned, and the cattle have been stolen, all by the Pakistani security forces.
The group called on international human rights groups and the international media to take notice of the situation in Balochistan and report the human rights abuses being committed there.