As part of Baloch Liberation Army’s Operation Herof Phase Two, the rebels conducted regular attacks on 48 different places in 14 cities of Baluchistan.
Military, administrative and security structures of the enemy were simultaneously targeted in Quetta, Nushki, Mastung, Dalbandin, Qalat, Kharan, Panjgur, Gwadar, Pisni, Turbat, Tump, Balida, Mangocher, Lasbela, Kech and Awaran.
During these operations, a total of 84 personnel of the occupying Pakistani army, police, intelligence agencies and CTD were killed, dozens were injured and 18 personnel were arrested alive, who are currently with them.
Baluchistan’s Chief Minister claims 145 suspected militants have been killed in the past 2 days.
Baluchistan CM Mir Sarfaraz Bugti says 17 security personnel have been killed in clashes with militants in the past 40 hours. He adds that 31 civilians were killed in militant attacks on January 31.
He says militants killed “five women and three children of a family” in Gwadar, all residents of Khuzdar and Baloch.
Baluchistan CM’s statement comes after the military claimed to have killed 92 suspected militants in retaliatory operations across the province, including Quetta, following attacks on January 31.
The military’s ISPR says 18 civilians and 15 soldiers were killed in militant attacks on January 31. Attacks occurred in Quetta, Mastung, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar, and Pasni.
The statement adds that militants damaged several government buildings and banks. Foreign report that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. And the group claims to have killed 84 Pakistani security personnel in the attacks.
A day earlier, the Pakistani military claimed to have killed 41 suspected militants in Panjgur and Harnai. The military referred to those killed in operations on January 30-31 as “enemies of India and Khawarij”.
The military typically uses these terms for militant groups like BLA, TTP, and Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group, which carry out attacks in Pakistan. New Delhi hasn’t commented on the military’s statement yet, but has previously denied such allegations, saying Pakistan supports terrorism in its territory. Islamabad rejects these claims.
Reactions are pouring in, with Baluchistan National Party leader and former CM Sardar Akhtar Mengal saying the situation in the province is “extremely concerning”. He stated on January 31 that he’s “never seen” conditions in Baluchistan as bad as they are now.
Mengal was referring to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s earlier statement that “an SHO and a thanedar are enough to deal with militants in Baluchistan”. Mengal tweeted, asking the minister to now say where that “SHO is?”
US Chargé d’Affaires in Pakistan, Natalie Baker, has condemned the “terrorist attacks”. “The US condemns the BLA-claimed terrorist attacks on security forces and civilians in Baluchistan,” she said on January 31. The US has previously designated BLA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The group, however, claims to be fighting for Baluchistan’s “independence”.
