Two Baloch armed groups, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), have claimed responsibility for a series of new attacks across Balochistan, including the killing of a man they described as a “key agent” of an alleged state-backed armed group in Panjgur.
In a statement issued on Friday, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group killed Zahid Muhammad Hussain in the Katagiri area of Panjgur on the night of 1 January.
He described the deceased as a “key agent” of an alleged state-backed armed group locally referred to as a “death squad,” alleging that he had been involved in assisting Pakistani forces in raids, enforced disappearances and targeted killings.
The group said fighters seized weapons from the hideout after the attack.
The statement said Zahid had “long led an armed gang under the patronage of state intelligence agencies,” adding that he was on the BLA’s hit list due to what the group called “atrocities against Baloch people.”
The BLA also said its fighters targeted on-foot personnel of the Pakistani military in the Spilinji Marau area of Mastung on 28 December.
The group said the personnel were attempting to advance in the area when they were attacked, claiming the force suffered casualties, and adding that fighters also “shot down a quadcopter” belonging to Pakistani forces during the clash.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said its fighters carried out three attacks on 1 and 2 January.
In a statement, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said fighters positioned in the mountains of the Wahir area of Wadh opened fire on a military vehicle assigned to protect company workers constructing a highway at around 5pm on 1 January.
He said one security personnel was killed and another injured.
Later the same night, the BLF said its fighters targeted a vehicle transporting minerals near Bismillah Hotel in Wadh at around 9:30pm, damaging the vehicle.
On 2 January, the group said it attacked a Pakistani military camp near the Kadh-a-Hotel area of Kolwah at around 5:20pm using rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons. The statement said the attack caused “casualties and material losses” inside the camp.
Pakistani authorities have not issued an immediate statement addressing the claims made by either group.