The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said on Sunday that it carried out 36 operations across Balochistan between Aug. 16 and Aug. 21, claiming that 33 Pakistani military personnel and alleged operatives were killed and several others injured.
In its weekly detailed statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the operations targeted Pakistani military convoys, vehicles, posts and foot patrols, as well as police facilities, government buildings, bridges, commercial vehicles and trade routes.
The group said its fighters took control of Saranan town in Pishin, destroyed government buildings and seized weapons, ammunition and vehicles. It also said 16 commercial vehicles were targeted at 11 locations under what it calls an “economic blockade”, while five of its fighters were killed in the operations and clashes.
The operations began on Aug. 16 with blockades at Patk and Zaik in Basima and Gidar in Surab, where fighters checked vehicles for several hours, the group said.
Pakistani forces attempted to advance at Zaik but were repelled, according to the BLA, which claimed that six military personnel were killed and four others injured, while one vehicle was severely damaged. One BLA fighter, identified as Mushtaq alias Koh-Yar, was also killed during the clashes.
On Aug. 17, BLA fighters targeted a Pakistani military vehicle with an improvised explosive device near Tal in Hoshab, killing two personnel and injuring four others, the statement said.
The group also said it detained Ali Haider, son of Jan Shah Sasoli and a resident of Barshonki, in the Zarozi area of Kharan. It accused him of working for an alleged “death squad” led by Sufi Mumtaz, providing information and assistance to Pakistani forces and involvement in the killing of BLA fighter Ali Jan alias Sudais.
The BLA further accused Ali Haider and other members of the alleged network of manipulating photographs of women for blackmail and involvement in robberies and thefts in and around Kharan. It said he was sentenced to death by what the group called the “Baloch National Court” on charges of “national treason” and subsequently executed.
Another alleged member of the network, identified as Sameer, son of Rafiq, had previously been killed, the group added.
Elsewhere on Aug. 17, BLA fighters seized two commercial vehicles at Charsar on the Chagai trade route and targeted another at Nokchah. The tyres of two vehicles were also damaged at Zarin Jungle on the Noshki-Kharan route, while fighters maintained a highway blockade for several hours at Pitkin on the Kharan-Quetta route.
The statement detailed several operations carried out on Aug. 18, including an ambush on a convoy of Pakistani forces and commercial vehicles between Dalbandin and Yakmach in Chagai.
The BLA said the attack continued for more than 30 minutes, claiming that three Pakistani military personnel were killed and several others injured, while commercial vehicles were damaged. The military convoy was subsequently attacked at three additional locations in the Charsar area, allegedly causing further losses.
Near Makai in Kalat, BLA fighters used a remote-controlled improvised explosive device to target Pakistani military personnel as they entered an unoccupied bunker to provide security for military vehicles. Six personnel were killed in the explosion, the group claimed.
The BLA also claimed attacks on Pakistani forces at Karodok in Chagai and on a vehicle allegedly belonging to a “death squad” at Nokchah, adding that its fighters repelled an attempt by Pakistani forces to advance into the area. It said eight Pakistani military personnel and alleged “death squad” members were killed and several others injured in those attacks.
During a blockade at Bartagzi on the Chagai trade route, the group said its fighters removed two men from a passenger bus and detained them on suspicion of working for Pakistan’s Military Intelligence.
The BLA claimed that the men were travelling from Quetta to Taftan without identification documents and were identified during interrogation as MI personnel. It said they were sentenced to death by the “Baloch National Court” and subsequently executed, while a commercial vehicle was also seized at the location.
Intense clashes also took place in the Hajika area of Surab, where the BLA claimed several Pakistani military personnel were killed or injured. Two of its fighters, identified as Sangat Mureed and Sangat Bhawal, were killed during the fighting.
The group separately claimed responsibility for killing Anees Faqeer in the Zoor Bazaar area of Turbat, accusing him of working as a Military Intelligence agent and facilitating Pakistani military operations.
On Aug. 19, BLA fighters used heavy machinery to destroy a main bridge in the Sotkagan area of Kharan, while another unit blew up a sports stadium allegedly used by Pakistani forces at Charsar in Chagai later that night.
The group said its fighters also seized a commercial container at Dasht-e-Baba in Kalat and attacked armoured and other military vehicles advancing into the area.
On Aug. 20, the BLA said its fighters established “full control” over Saranan town in Pishin, taking positions at key locations and seizing the police station, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office and other government buildings.
Ten police personnel were detained and later released under the group’s organisational policy, while weapons, ammunition, military equipment and vehicles were seized from the police station. The building was subsequently destroyed with explosives, and other BLA units controlled highways around Saranan and conducted snap checks during the operation.
Later that day, the group said its fighters ambushed a 15-vehicle Pakistani military convoy in the Sultan area of Killa Abdullah, destroying three vehicles and severely damaging two others. Four military personnel were killed and several injured in the ambush, according to the BLA.
Two commercial vehicles were also seized and set on fire at Jojki in Chagai, while the tyres of two vehicles were damaged at Hurmagay in Washuk.
In Minaz, Buleda, BLA fighters targeted two cargo trucks and a pickup carrying rations for Pakistani forces and set fire to two military tractors at Kochak. Two other vehicles transporting military supplies were targeted with explosives at Dashtuk in Zamuran, the statement said.
The final operations listed for the period took place on Aug. 21, when the BLA said its fighters detained two employees of a construction company building a post for Pakistani forces in the Albat area of Kharan. The group said an investigation into the two men was continuing.
Five commercial vehicles were also seized at Charsar on the Chagai trade route on the same day.
The BLA further claimed responsibility for attacks on Pakistani military posts with grenade and rocket launchers at Zoomdan in Buleda on Aug. 8 and in rural Turbat on Aug. 12, alleging casualties and material losses.
The statement also identified two BLA fighters killed in earlier clashes. Haji Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal Shahwani alias Master, a resident of Killi Sarda in Quetta, was killed during a clash with Pakistani forces in the same area on July 29, while Abubakar Nechari alias Lali was killed during fighting in Sohinda, Zehri, on the night of Aug. 10-11.
Reiterating its policy on commercial and military traffic, the BLA said its “economic blockade” against what it described as the “plundering of Balochistan’s natural resources”, “colonial exploitative projects” and the military movement of the “occupying forces” would remain strictly enforced.
The group said highway blockades along Balochistan’s main commercial routes would be expanded and that vehicles and projects protecting what it described as the Pakistani military’s economic interests would continue to be targeted.
It also said restrictions on transporting rations and logistical supplies to Pakistani forces in Zamuran and adjoining areas would remain in force, warning local drivers, contractors and traders against providing such supplies or other assistance.
The BLA said those who violated the restrictions would bear responsibility for any resulting loss of life or property.
The group paid tribute to Mushtaq alias Koh-Yar, Ali Jan, Sangat Mureed, Sangat Bhawal, Haji Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal Shahwani and Abubakar Nechari, saying their deaths would strengthen its campaign.
It pledged to continue its operations until what it described as “the establishment of an independent Balochistan”.
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