BLA claims killing six Pakistan Army personnel in Balochistan clashes

Quetta [Pakistan], June 27 (ANI): The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for killing six Pakistan Army personnel in recent clashes across various regions of Balochistan. According to a statement by BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, three of its fighters were also killed during confrontations in Quetta, Kalat, and Siahji.

In the Kohak region of Kalat, BLA fighters reportedly launched a series of intense attacks targeting Pakistani military convoys using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and assault tactics involving motorcycles and other vehicles.

The statement further claimed that on June 22, a BLA patrol unit encountered Pakistan Army personnel in the Daghari region of Quetta, resulting in an armed clash. Earlier, on June 20, BLA fighters engaged in a firefight with Pakistani security forces in the Lingasi area of Dasht, during which Pakistani forces allegedly suffered casualties.

The Baloch Liberation Army is an armed separatist group operating in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest yet most underdeveloped province.

The group has long advocated for an independent Baloch state, citing historical grievances, political marginalisation, economic exploitation, and military repression by the Pakistani government.

The BLA has been accusing the state of exploiting Balochistan's vast natural resources--such as gas, minerals, and coastal assets--without benefiting the local population. It also opposes large-scale infrastructure initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which it views as extractive and harmful to Baloch interests.

International human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have raised concerns about widespread human rights violations in Balochistan, including the enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch activists, students, journalists, and political workers allegedly carried out by Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies. (ANI)

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