Four soldiers were killed and several others reportedly wounded when the Pakistani forces were attacked in the Mand area of district Kech. Balochistan Liberation Front, a Baloch “pro-independence” group active in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani authorities also confirmed the attack but levelled the blame against Iran.
According to sources, the forces sustained casualties and heavy material losses. In a media statement, Gohram Baloch, spokesperson for the group, said that the security forces are erecting fences in the Chakap Kor area of Mand. In the daytime, the forces provide security for the workers erecting the fences and return to their camps in the evening.
Gohram Baloch said that the BLF fighters captured one of their outposts. When the forces were trying to retake their position, the fighters opened fire on them. Three soldiers were killed at the spot and another fell to his death in a nearby cavern.
He said that the forces opened fire on the BLF fighters, but the fighters slipped past unscathed.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military, confirmed the attack on the forces but put the blame on Iran. ISPR said that the shots had been fired from across the border and only one soldier had been killed.
In the meantime, a large-scale military operation is in progress in Bolan and its environs. A thousands-strong contingency of security forces has been deployed in the region and they are rapidly advancing inwards towards main areas. Eight gunship helicopters have been sighted circulating the area and bombarding several houses in Soorgaarh, Chalri and Bok.
Military operations like these are a source of great concern for the inhabitants of these regions. These people argue that the forces carry out human rights violations during these operations, like “forcibly disappearing” dozens of individuals, arbitrarily bombarding civilian settlements and arsoning their possessions, thieving their valuables and cattle and exercising aggression on the locals.