The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said on Tuesday its fighters seized two police stations, confiscated weapons and briefly blocked traffic along a key highway linked to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Balochistan’s Kech district.
Major Gwahram Baloch, the group’s spokesperson, said in a statement that fighters attacked the police stations in the Kesak area at about 6 p.m. on Nov. 10, detaining the officers on duty. He said the personnel were released unharmed after interrogation, while government property was set on fire and official weapons were taken.
According to the BLF, its fighters later established temporary checkpoints on the CPEC highway for about half an hour, inspecting vehicles moving in both directions. The group said no members of Pakistan’s armed forces or intelligence agencies were found during the inspection.
Pakistani authorities had not issued a statement responding to the BLF’s claims at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, in Balochistan’s Kharan district, unidentified armed men abducted a man identified as Nadir, son of Elahi Bakhsh Muhammad Hassani, in the Dashtken area. Local sources said the abducted individual was allegedly affiliated with a state-backed armed militia commonly referred to as a “death squad.”
Groups referred to locally as “death squads” are alleged by Baloch nationalist circles to be militias supported by the Pakistani military. These groups are accused of assisting Pakistani armed forces in raids and operations in Balochistan, and of involvement in criminal activities such as extortion, drug trafficking and kidnappings for ransom.
Baloch “pro-independence” armed groups have in recent years claimed responsibility for several attacks targeting members of such groups, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. However, no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction in Kharan at the time of publication.