Security conditions remained tense in Kharan district of Balochistan on Friday after a large, coordinated attack a day earlier triggered hours of fighting, with the Pakistani authorities and a Baloch armed group issuing sharply conflicting accounts of what happened.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti said at a press conference in Quetta that two army officers — Wing Commander Colonel Wadhan and Major Asim — were injured during the assault on Thursday. He said security forces killed 12 attackers in retaliatory action.
In a statement, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that “approximately fifteen to twenty terrorists” carried out multiple attacks in Kharan city, including on the city police station, the National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank Limited.
The statement said Rs 3.4 million was looted from the banks during the attack.
“Security forces effectively responded and engaged the terrorists, prompting them to retreat,” it said, adding that during clearance operations, “twelve terrorists were sent to hell in three different engagements”.
It said the attackers’ attempt to “create a hostage situation” at the police station was thwarted and that a “sanitisation operation” was continuing in surrounding areas.
Sources said Pakistani forces also suffered heavy casualties during the clashes, but the military did not release any figures on its own losses.
The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters carried out a planned operation in Kharan city on the afternoon of 15 January, targeting multiple security and government installations.
In a statement, the BLF said dozens of its fighters entered the city on vehicles and motorcycles, attacked the Kharan City police station and temporarily took control of it. The group said clashes followed in which “occupying forces were forced to retreat”.
The BLF said its fighters then moved into Kharan’s main market and targeted banks and other government institutions, claiming the aim was to “paralyse the economic and administrative installations” of the state.
“Our fighters entered the main markets and targeted banks and other important government centres, causing heavy damage,” said Major Gwahram Baloch, the group’s spokesperson. “The purpose of this operation was to paralyse the economic and administrative installations of the occupying state.”
He said a detailed account of the operation would be released later.
The BLF statement neither confirmed nor denied the state’s claim that 12 attackers were killed.