Authorities in the Balochistan government have reportedly launched a military operation against Baloch “pro-independence” groups in Balochistan.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya claimed that two “militants” were arrested and three were killed during a weekend operation in connection with investigations into the August attacks. He said that the arrested “militants” reportedly provided information about how the attacks were planned and executed, where the funding came from, who the local facilitators were, and where the rebels’ hideouts were located in the mountains of Balochistan.
DIG Goraya stated that based on this intelligence, an operation has been underway for the past two days in Dukki, Loralai, and surrounding districts, involving the Frontier Corps, CTD, Levies, police, and other forces. He added, “As I speak, the operation is ongoing at this very moment.”
In addition to the government’s claims, the CTD had earlier announced that four individuals were killed in an encounter at Musakhel. Three of those killed were identified as Muhammad Nawaz Buzdar, Ghulam Buzdar, and Jafar Marri, all of whom had been registered as missing persons prior to their deaths.
The three individuals were allegedly forcibly disappeared from the Rarahsham area of Musakhel. Muhammad Nawaz Buzdar forcibly disappeared on September 10; Ghulam Buzdar was abducted from the Buzdar petrol pump on September 21, while Jafar Marri was forcibly disappeared on October 2 while shopping at a local store.
It is important to note that this is not the first time that forcibly Baloch missing persons have been killed in military operations by Pakistani forces and later labeled as fighters from Baloch “pro-independence” groups. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has a chequered history of conducting such operations, where Baloch missing persons are rounded up and executed at point-blank range. An investigative report by The Balochistan Post into a similar incident, in which nine Baloch missing persons were killed in Ziarat following the abduction of a high-ranking army officer by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), revealed that the victims were indeed missing persons and not insurgents. Independent investigations into other such incidents have reached similar conclusions.