BLA claims killing more than 30 Pakistani soldiers, issues stern warning to China

ISLAMABAD: The Baloch Liberation Army claimed killing more than 30 Pakistani soldiers as it targeted PNS Siddique, the country's second-largest naval air station located in Turbat and warned China on its "illegal" settlements and projects in Balochistan.

In a statement, the group said that its Majeed Brigade successfully concluded the fifth phase of "Operation ZirPahazag" to "retaliate against ongoing Baloch genocide" and save the region from Chinese "occupation and exploitation".

"Majeed Brigade of Baloch Liberation Army, in the fifth phase of Operation ZirPahazag, last night (Monday) at ten o'clock, attacked the occupied army's Naval Airbase, PNS Siddique, engaging the enemy till morning and successfully achieving the objectives of the operation by killing more than thirty enemy soldiers," BLA spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, stated.

The statement came as local media reports in Islamabad said that the attack killed one paramilitary soldier while security forces on the Pakistan side killed all five attackers in retaliatory fire.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the “terrorists” attempted to attack PNS Siddique in Turbat and the assault was “foiled” due to the “swift and effective response by the troops".

Baloch said that while bringing the operation to its culmination, four fighters of the Majeed Brigade were killed, identifying them as Ayub alias Doda, Khalif alias Islam, Wajid alias Nodan, and Murad alias Farhad.

He added that their fighters "broke through the strong security barricade of the enemy army's Naval Airbase PNS Siddique and entered successfully, neutralising one enemy bunker and destroying two drones of the enemy army".

"When the ammunition ran out, all four fighters embraced martyrdom with their last bullets," Baloch said, adding, "These were just four fidayees; currently, there are hundreds of trained men and women fidayees in the ranks of Majeed Brigade, who are always ready to strike effective blows against the enemy".

Further, the BLA issued a stern warning to China on its CPEC (China–Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects in the region and reiterated that the Asian nation is complicit in looting Baloch resources by colluding with Pakistan.

In addition, it is also involved in suppressing the Baloch movement by providing military and economic assistance to the occupying Pakistani Army, the statement said.

"If China does not stop its exploitative projects in Balochistan and does not cease its support to the occupying Pakistani army in Baloch genocide, the Baloch Liberation Army reserves the right to launch severe attacks on illegal Chinese settlements and projects in Balochistan," Baloch said.

The development corresponds with Tuesday's suicide attack on five Chinese nationals who died after their vehicle was targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Besham city in Shangla district. Police said the attackers crashed their vehicle full of explosives into the car carrying Chinese engineers who were going to Dasu camp in Kohistan from Islamabad.

Dasu is the site of a major hydroelectric dam, under construction by the China Gezhouba Group Company, and the area has been attacked in the past.

The safety of Chinese workers has long been an area of concern in Pakistan and in January this year, BLA initiated ‘Operation Dara-e-Bolan’ in the Mach and Bolan regions of Balochistan. This was followed by an attack on the Military Intelligence headquarters in Gwadar on March 20.

Active since 2011, the BLA is one of the most prominent separatist groups operating in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province -- a strategically important area for the Islamic nation due to an abundance of natural resources.