The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Saturday issued a detailed statement on the July 8 Majeed Brigade attack on the residence and central compound of Shafiq Mengal in Khuzdar, claiming that 34 members of what it described as his “death squad” were killed.
The pro-independence group also announced the formal launch of a new operation titled “Marg-e-Ghadaran”, which it said would target figures it describes as Baloch “national traitors”.
BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the attack targeted Shafiq Mengal, whom the group referred to as “Shafiq Laghor,” at a time when he was allegedly holding a meeting with key members of his armed group and what the BLA described as external militant networks.
Alleged Meeting and ‘ZIRAB’ Surveillance
The BLA said its intelligence wing, “ZIRAB,” had monitored the compound for several weeks before approving the operation.
The group said that the compound had long served as a “facilitation centre” against the Baloch national movement and claimed that Pakistani intelligence officers, members of ISIS and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and former Afghan soldiers were present at the meeting.
It said the purpose of the meeting was to organise religious extremism against the Baloch national movement and mobilise new armed networks against Baloch political activists. It added that Shakeel Durrani and Ameer Hamza, son of Sanaullah Zehri, were also scheduled to attend.
The group alleged that casualties among intelligence officers, ISIS members and former Afghan military personnel were being concealed to hide what it called a “criminal nexus” operating on the ground.
Four-Hour Assault
The BLA said the attack was the first phase of “Operation Marg-e-Ghadaran” and was carried out by 10 Majeed Brigade “fidayeen” fighters.
The operation began when a “fidayee” fighter drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the main gate of Mengal’s compound, destroying the outer security perimeter and checkpoints, the statement said.
The statement said a second fighter then breached the inner section of the compound and detonated explosives, breaking what it described as the inner defensive line.
The BLA said the remaining eight fighters then entered the compound, took positions inside and engaged armed operatives in close-quarter clashes that continued for more than four hours.
The group claimed that its fighters cleared several sections of the compound and killed 34 members of Mengal’s armed group.
It said most of those killed were directly involved in the killing, abduction, torture, enforced disappearance and targeted killing of Baloch political activists, students and civilians.
The group also said several police and Levies personnel present at the site were killed during the operation.
It alleged that those personnel were not carrying out official duties but were members of Mengal’s private armed network who had been given government jobs and uniforms to provide “legal cover”.
Shafiq Mengal’s Escape
The BLA said Mengal was inside the compound when the attack began but escaped after the Majeed Brigade fighters advanced deeper into the premises.
“Using a secret underground passage built inside his compound, Shafiq Laghor fled in his bulletproof vehicle, leaving his wounded and dying associates writhing in that exact state,” the statement said.
The group said its fighters fired at Mengal’s vehicle and pursued it, but he managed to escape from the area.
It claimed that after his escape, its fighters took full control of the compound and killed the remaining armed men inside.
The BLA repeated long-standing allegations against Mengal and his family, accusing them of collaboration with British colonial authorities and later with the Pakistani state.
The group alleged that Mengal had been linked at different times to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba and ISIS, and accused him of involvement in attacks on the Hazara community in Quetta and the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan.
The BLA also accused Mengal of operating private detention and torture sites in Tutak and surrounding areas of Khuzdar, and linked him to the mass graves discovered in Tutak.
‘Five Fidayeen Killed, Five Withdraw After Operation’
The statement said three Majeed Brigade fighters reached deep inside the residential block of the compound and fought there for several hours.
It said the three later took their own lives with their final bullets after their ammunition was nearly exhausted, following what the group called its “philosophy of the last bullet”.
Earlier in the operation, two other Majeed Brigade fighters had been killed during the opening stages of the assault, including the fighter who drove the explosives-laden vehicle into the compound and another who breached the inner section before detonating explosives.
The group said that after the objective had been achieved, its high command ordered the remaining fighters to end the operation and withdraw.
It claimed that five Majeed Brigade fighters, including one wounded member, broke through cordons established by the Pakistani military, Frontier Corps, Anti-Terrorism Force, police and Mengal’s armed men, and reached safe locations.
The BLA said the names, organisational profiles and details of all five fighters killed in the attack would be released later in a separate statement.
‘Operation Marg-e-Ghadaran’
The BLA said the Khuzdar attack marked the official beginning of “Operation Marg-e-Ghadaran”, which it described as a new and broader military campaign against figures it calls Baloch “national traitors”.
The group said it had formed a “highly powerful, modern and clandestine military unit” within its organisational structure to oversee and carry out the operation.
“The fundamental and sole task of this special unit is to track down and completely and ruthlessly eliminate all major Baloch national traitors, including Shafiq Laghor,” the statement said, adding that the Khuzdar attack was only the first phase of the operation.
The BLA said there would be “no room for forgiveness, compromise or leniency” for Mengal and others it placed in the same category, warning of further attacks under the new operation.
There was no immediate response from Shafiq Mengal or Pakistani authorities to the BLA’s latest statement.