Baloch Liberation Front launches coordinated attacks in Balochistan, seizes government facilities and blocks key highways

Balochistan [Pakistan] June 23 (ANI): The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has taken responsibility for a series of coordinated assaults and blockades in various regions of Balochistan, including the vital Quetta-Noshki-Taftan highway and the Kardgap-Manguchar Link Road, claiming that they seized and set fire to multiple government facilities and took possession of weapons.

In a statement from BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch, it was announced that the group's fighters executed a significant operation on June 21 in the town of Kardgap, located in Mastung district. The targets comprised the Levies station, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office, and the Assistant Commissioner's office, all of which were reportedly captured and set ablaze after weapons and records were seized. Among the confiscated items were allegedly four Kalashnikov rifles, one G3 rifle, 16 additional firearms, and a motorcycle.

After the operation, BLF fighters set up temporary checkpoints along the Kardgap-Manguchar Link Road. The group asserts that three non-local individuals were apprehended during checks at these locations near Kardgap Hotel and a petrol station, and seven gas-transporting bowser trucks sustained damage. A separate blockade at Kardgap Cross reportedly resulted in further damage to five trucks and the detention of three additional non-local individuals.

Later that same day, around 7:00 PM, BLF fighters commenced another blockade on the Quetta-Noshki-Taftan highway. The group claims that they maintained control over the road until midnight, halting and searching all passing vehicles. There was reportedly no intervention from security forces during the five-hour blockade.

The Baloch community has endured systemic oppression and torture through the misuse of various laws, especially in areas such as Pakistan's Balochistan. Legislation like the Anti-Terrorism Act and special security ordinances has been leveraged to justify arbitrary arrests, extended detention without trial, and the denial of fundamental legal rights.

Security forces often operate under these laws with extensive powers and legal protection, resulting in widespread accounts of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture, encompassing both physical and psychological harm.

Military courts and special tribunals routinely try Baloch activists without adhering to fair trial standards, further depriving them of justice. Furthermore, laws on media censorship stifle Baloch voices and obscure these violations from the public eye, perpetuating a cycle of violence and impunity against the Baloch population. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)