The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed on Thursday that its fighters killed 16 Pakistani military personnel in a week of attacks across Balochistan and rejected the Pakistani military’s claim that more than 71 fighters had been killed in recent operations.
Pakistan’s military said on Sunday that more than 71 militants had been killed over the preceding 96 hours. BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch dismissed the figures as “entirely fabricated, bogus, and contrary to ground realities”, accusing the military of concealing losses sustained in attacks on its camps.
“Masking defeats through false propaganda and diverting public attention from actual losses is an old method of the Pakistani military machinery,” the statement said.
The BLA also accused Pakistani institutions of linking it to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other armed organisations to portray them as a single network. It said these associations sought to discredit what it described as its “political, secular struggle for an independent Balochistan.”
“The Baloch Liberation Army has no organizational, ideological, or operational connection with any other organization, group, or elements, except BRAS,” the statement said.
The group described itself as “fully autonomous”, adding that its objectives included protecting Balochistan’s resources and establishing an “independent, secular, sovereign, and prosperous Baloch homeland”.
The statement detailed 21 operations between September 23 and 29, including attacks on military camps and convoys, highway blockades, damage to commercial vehicles and bridges, and the killing of four men accused of working for Pakistani forces. The group also acknowledged that one of its fighters was killed.
Camp and Convoy Attacks
Jeeyand Baloch said fighters attacked a Pakistani forces camp at Tus But in Quetta’s Daghari area on September 25, claiming that nine military personnel were killed and more than seven wounded.
“Armed with thermal and other modern weapons, fighters attacked the enemy camp simultaneously from three sides,” the statement said, adding that the night attack lasted more than an hour and caused material losses.
The BLA acknowledged that its fighter Ghulam Nabi Baloch, alias Bolani, was killed during the engagement. It added that fighters ambushed Pakistani forces advancing into the area the following day, targeting two vehicles and inflicting further casualties and damage.
The statement also said fighters fired “multiple rocket shells” at a military camp in Splinji, Mastung, on September 25, claiming casualties and damage without providing figures.
The spokesperson said fighters ambushed a military convoy on the RCD Highway in Wadh on September 26. “Three enemy vehicles were destroyed in the attack, resulting in three enemy personnel killed and at least six injured,” the statement said, adding that BLA snipers killed two personnel at a military camp in Gidar, Surab, the same day.
The BLA claimed another two personnel were killed in an explosive attack targeting a bomb disposal squad at Soro in Manguchar on September 28, adding that the blast destroyed a bridge.
The group also claimed that fighters seized weapons from police personnel and destroyed surveillance equipment it described as “spy cameras” in Nushki, including a camera on Eidgah Road.
‘Economic Blockade‘
The statement linked the attacks on commercial vehicles and bridges to the group’s economic blockade:
“Fighters maintained control over major highways while targeting trade vehicles and bridges under an economic blockade.”
The BLA said fighters used heavy machinery to destroy a bridge at Sotgakan on the Quetta-Kharan highway on September 26, adding that another bridge on the same route and a post used by Pakistani forces at Kalli Karim Bakhsh were also destroyed.
According to the spokesperson, fighters blocked the CPEC route between Tejaban and Hoshab that day and checked vehicles for several hours. He said further blockades were established at Daali and Gwargan on the Kharan-Quetta route on September 29, with checks at Daali continuing for more than five hours.
The group said fighters “took a trade vehicle along with its goods into custody” at Nokchah in Chagai on September 27. It added that fighters opened fire on a minerals-carrying vehicle at the same location the following day after it failed to stop and subsequently set it ablaze.
Killings of Alleged Military Operatives
The statement separately acknowledged killing Ahsan, son of Barkat, in Shadikaur, Pasni, on September 23, describing him as “an important operative of Military Intelligence (MI)”. The BLA said his weapon and vehicle were seized and accused him of assisting military operations, house raids and enforced disappearances.
The group further alleged that Pakistani forces had assigned Ahsan “the task of clearing routes and bridges”.
Abdul Wahab, son of Lal Bakhsh, was killed in Cher Kuncheti in Dasht, Turbat, on September 25, according to the statement. The BLA alleged that Pakistani forces had armed him and that he was “running a network of facilitators” in Dasht and surrounding areas, adding that he had assisted raids and the enforced disappearance of young people.
The BLA also said it killed Sudais, son of Muhammad Kareem Mengal, and Junaid, son of Noor Muhammad Muhammad Hasni, in Barshonki, Kharan, on September 28 following a verdict by what it called the “Baloch National Court”.
The group accused the two men of belonging to an MI-backed “death squad” operating under Hafiz Mumtaz. It alleged that they had infiltrated Baloch armed organisations and planted a tracking device in the Kalat mountains.
The statement said both men had previously been detained and released on assurances from their parents. It claimed that after their release, “both operatives rejoined Hafiz Mumtaz, where they were provided weapons and additional tracking chips”, adding that three devices were placed in Lijjay, where drone strikes later took place.
The BLA claimed the men had “confessed” while in its custody to assisting Pakistani forces, transporting and concealing weapons from Nushki and Kharan, and clearing routes. It further alleged that they had admitted involvement in the killing of a man named Musa.
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