While Pakistan is busy launching futile drone and missile attacks on Indian civilians and military sites across its eastern front, Baloch rebels have stepped up their offensive against Pakistani security forces. At least three groups of Baloch fighters have seized control of parts of its western province, Balochistan. The developments come amid fighting between several rebel groups and Pakistani forces escalating and calls for Balochistan’s independence growing louder. Images and videos of Baloch people hoisting their flags after pulling down Pakistan’s are all over social media.
Baloch pro-independence groups carried out coordinated attacks on Pakistani security forces and their assets swept across Balochistan on Thursday, according to news reports and posts from credible handles.
The attacks on the Pakistani regime in Balochistan have gained momentum in the last week. The attacks come even as the Islamabad-Rawalpindi establishment is focused on reacting to India’s strike on terror camps as part of Operation Sindoor.
The Baloch groups have intensified to such an extent that the forces of the Pakistani security forces faced at least four attacks by “unidentified armed assailants” in the provincial capital of Quetta on Thursday. Explosions and intense gunfire were reported across Quetta, according to Balochistan-based Radio Zrumbesh English.
On Thursday, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) rebels targeted “the Pakistani Army and its collaborators in six separate attacks in Kech, Mastung and Kachi”, according to Radio Zrumbesh English.
“Baloch people have started hoisting their own flags and taking down Pakistani flags. Time for the world to pull back their diplomatic missions from Pakistan and shift them into the newly emerging country of Balochistan. Farewell to Pakistan, welcome to Balochistan,” Baloch writer Mir Yar Baloch posted on X.
This spate of attacks comes days after former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan’s federal government and army were losing control over the restive province of Balochistan, especially after dark.
Abbasi said senior government officials and ministers couldn’t move around in Balochistan without security escorts. Abbasi also challenged the narrative of Army Chief Asim Munir regarding the scale of rebellion in Balochistan.
BALOCH REBELS RAMP UP ATTACKS ON PAK ARMY
On Thursday, the BLA fighters targeted a bomb disposal squad of the Pakistani army in Dashtuk, Kech District, using a remote-controlled IED, killing one soldier on the spot.
In a separate incident, BLA fighters launched an attack on a Pakistani army outpost in Katgan, also in Kech, using automatic weapons, reportedly killing some security personnel, Balochistan-based journalist Bahot Baluch wrote on X, citing Jeeyand Baloch, the BLA spokesperson.
Similar IED blasts on the Pakistani army and its supply vehicles took place in Zamuran’s Sah Dem area, which claimed several lives, according to Bahot Baluch.