The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Tuesday released details of 13 operations it said were carried out across Balochistan between Sept. 7 and Sept. 13, claiming that 43 Pakistani military personnel and members of alleged state-backed “death squads” were killed and several others injured.
In its weekly statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the operations were carried out in Basima, Kharan, Panjgur, Chagai, Tump, Surab, Killa Abdullah, Lasbela, Jiwani and Mashkel. The targets included Pakistani military convoys, checkpoints and surveillance equipment, as well as alleged “death squad” members, commercial vehicles, bridges and a lithium extraction project.
The group said its fighters seized weapons and vehicles, destroyed infrastructure and maintained blockades on key highways under what it calls an “economic blockade”. It also confirmed that ten of its fighters were killed, including eight during clashes in Basima and Killa Abdullah and two in an earlier clash in Panjgur.
The operations listed in the statement began on Sept. 7 with a five-hour blockade on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route in Basima, where BLA fighters conducted snap checks.
The group claimed that five Pakistani military personnel were killed and several others injured during clashes at the location, adding that three BLA fighters were also killed in the fighting.
It identified them as Aziz Ahmed Sumalani alias Jahanzeb, Ibadullah Zehri alias Saqib and Adnan Sumalani alias Sarwat.
On Sept. 8, BLA fighters ambushed a Pakistani military convoy on the main highway in Nauroz Kalat, Kharan, leaving at least four personnel killed or injured, the statement said.
The same day, the group said its fighters set fire to a vehicle carrying supplies for Pakistani forces and seized another in Parom, Panjgur, while surveillance cameras installed by the military were destroyed at Mashkel Kaur in the Chedgi area.
BLA fighters subsequently maintained a blockade on the trade route in Chedgi for more than two hours on Sept. 9 and conducted snap checks.
The following day, the group said its fighters blocked the Quetta-Taftan trade route at Chehatar in Chagai and seized two commercial vehicles. A bridge was also destroyed with explosives in the same area, while Pakistani forces advancing towards the location were subsequently attacked, allegedly causing casualties and material losses.
Another unit shot down a Pakistani military surveillance quadcopter in Tump on the same day, according to the statement.
The BLA detailed two attacks on Pakistani forces in Surab on Sept. 11, beginning with an ambush on a military convoy at Tobo in the Gidar area.
Two military vehicles came under direct attack, one of which was put out of action, the statement said, claiming that six personnel were killed. It added that Pakistani forces withdrew from the area, leaving behind the bodies of those killed.
Pakistani forces attempting to advance were separately attacked at Rodeni Cross, where the BLA claimed another three personnel were killed and at least four injured.
The weekly statement also incorporated three operations in Lasbela, Jiwani and Mashkel that the BLA had announced separately during the reporting period.
In Lasbela, the group’s Fateh Squad targeted a convoy belonging to the Pakistani military’s 15 FF Bomb Disposal Party at Kishari in the Walpat area on Sept. 12.
The group claimed that two military vehicles were destroyed and two others severely damaged, leaving nine personnel killed and more than 11 injured.
In Jiwani, BLA fighters killed Ghulam Mustafa, Sanam Masih, Kanwal Shehzad and Danish Iqbal in what the group described as an intelligence-based operation. The BLA accused the four men of working for the Pakistani military and Military Intelligence (MI) while employed by the National Logistics Corporation.
The third previously announced operation targeted a lithium extraction project in Mashkel, where the BLA said its fighters took control of the site and destroyed five vehicles, including four drilling machines. Company personnel detained during the operation were later released after being warned, the statement said.
The BLA described the attack as part of its “economic blockade” and called on international and local companies to withdraw their investments, personnel and logistical resources from lithium projects in Balochistan.
It said agreements involving lithium prospecting, exploration, licensing or drilling would be considered “completely null, void, and illegal”, warning that companies continuing such operations under Pakistani military protection would become targets.
“Global companies must completely refrain from any commercial agreements with the usurping and unstable administration in Islamabad and immediately withdraw their investment, personnel and logistical resources from all ongoing lithium projects on Baloch soil,” Jeeyand Baloch said.
The statement said drilling sites, field camps, company movements and technical personnel involved in lithium projects would be considered “direct military targets” if the companies continued their operations.
On Sept. 13, BLA fighters attacked members of what the group described as a state-backed “death squad” in Sultan Shar, Killa Abdullah.
The BLA claimed that 25 members of the armed group were killed and several others fled with injuries, while its fighters seized their weapons and a vehicle.
A contingent of Pakistani forces, Counter Terrorism Department personnel (CTD) and alleged “death squad” members subsequently attempted to advance into the area and came under a second attack, the statement said.
The group claimed that several personnel and alleged “death squad” members were killed or injured during clashes lasting nearly four hours. Five BLA fighters were also killed in the fighting.
They were identified as Yasir Mengal alias Shah Yar, Farooq Pirkani alias Asif, Waqar Ahmed Lehri alias Chakar, Asim and Mulla Chakar.
The statement separately provided details of two BLA fighters killed during clashes with Pakistani forces at Phulabad in Parom, Panjgur, on Aug. 19, identifying them as Zahir Baloch alias KD and Allah Dad Baloch alias Sawad.
The group paid tribute to the ten fighters killed in Basima, Killa Abdullah and Panjgur, saying their deaths would strengthen its campaign.
The BLA said its “military confrontation will continue on every front” and pledged to continue its operations until the withdrawal of Pakistani forces and “the establishment of an independent and sovereign Balochistan”.