The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Saturday released a video message from its commander-in-chief, Bashir Zeb Baloch, calling on the Baloch public to “come out of their homes” and join what he described as a decisive phase of the armed struggle against the Pakistani state.
The message was released by the BLA’s media channel, Hakkal, alongside an announcement that “simultaneous attacks in ten cities” had been launched across Balochistan under the second phase of “Operation Herof.”
In the video, Bashir Zeb Baloch appears with armed fighters and delivers his message in both Brahui and Balochi, saying the group has begun what he called a “decisive war.”
He claimed the process of “expelling the Punjabi army and Punjabi state from Balochistan” had started, adding that “victory will belong to the Baloch nation.”
He repeatedly urged the Baloch public to leave their homes and participate in what he described as a war of national liberation. “Today is the day of sacrifice,” he said, adding that “no enemy soldier or institution should remain in Balochistan any longer.”
The BLA chief warned that if the public did not come out “today” and stand with “brothers and sisters participating in Operation Herof,” history would “record their defeat.” He said “those who give their lives and those who take lives write history.”
“We are not extremists,” he said. “But when it comes to our land and our nation, we are prepared to go to any extent. We have not occupied any other nation; rather, we have been occupied. Our war is a war for justice.”
He urged the public not to “regret in the days to come,” saying the Baloch nation should “become part of this resistance today,” warning that otherwise “the bodies of more of our brothers and sisters will be lying in our streets.”
Calling the day “a day of sacrifice,” he said the Baloch people were confronting what he described as “the Punjabi enemy.”
In closing, he urged the public not to lose hope “no matter how many of us are killed today,” saying the resistance should continue.