At least 23 passengers from Punjab have been killed in Balochistan’s Musakhail district on Monday (26th August). As per Pakistani media reports, gunmen stopped several buses, trucks, and vans that were coming from Pakistan’s Punjab province. They forced the passengers out of their vehicles and fatally shot at least 23 persons after checking their identities. The dead passengers belonged to Punjabi ethnicity.
23 killed in Pakistan militant attack
— DD News (@DDNewslive) August 26, 2024
A militant attack on a highway in southwestern #Pakistan targeted vehicles from buses to goods trucks, killing at least 23 people, ten vehicles set ablaze.
Armed men blocked the route in the restive province of Balochistan, took… pic.twitter.com/elkTduUP9I
Following the attack, the Pakistani officials alleged that the armed men checked identity documents, singled out Punjabis, and shot them. According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, they also set fire to 10 vehicles.
According to Assistant Commissioner Musakhail Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway and offloaded passengers from buses.
A local official, Najibullah Kakar stated that around 30 to 40 militants were involved in this attack. He told AFP news agency, “They stopped 22 vehicles. Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot.”
The attack happened overnight on a highway in Balochistan province where Baloch groups have been accusing the Pakistani military of ethnic cleansing, persecution, and targeted killings in the name of counter-terror operations.
BLA intensifies its offensive in Balochistan, stating it killed 102 Pakistani soldiers overnight. The #OperationHereof, which began last evening, is ongoing.#Hakkal #Balochistan #Pakistan #PakistanArmy
— Mr Professor (@HeistGenius) August 26, 2024
pic.twitter.com/xVe84oadWB pic.twitter.com/ILoar7M9PW
While clashes have been ongoing between ethnic Baloch groups and the Pakistani army, major clashes were reported on 26th August with BLA claiming that it has killed over 100 Pakistani army personnel under Operation Herof. They have also claimed control over several highways and army camps.
Balochistan burning overnight.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 26, 2024
Pakistan Army under attack by Baloch rebels. pic.twitter.com/sW4Jt88jg3
⚡️BREAKING: BLA Rebels attacked Bela military camp in Turbat, Balochistan 🇵🇰
— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) August 26, 2024
🪖 Militants took the camp under control late night.
Casualties are believed to be in high double figures. pic.twitter.com/imMJ8lf8cc
Conspicuously, while Pakistan has dubbed the Mushakhail incident as a ‘terrorist attack’, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said that the deceased passengers were Pakistani military servicemen who were disguised in civilian clothes. Notably, while claiming responsibility for the attack in the Mushakail district, BLA said that their fighters identified and subsequently killed Pakistani military servicemen.
It is pertinent to note that it has been reported that two paramilitary soldiers were among the two dozen people killed in this attack.
According to the news agency Reuters, the BLA has said it was targeting military personnel travelling in civilian clothes. According to reports, before the attack, BLA had issued a warning to the Baloch public and asked them to stay away from the highway. They added that their “fight is against the occupying Pakistani military”.
It added, “We have taken full control of all major highways across Balochistan, blocking them completely.”
Baloch groups accuse and fight against the Pakistani military for carrying out ethnic cleansing and resource plundering in the name of counter-terror operations
Incidentally, Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan. Though it has an abundance of resources, it is the least developed region in Pakistan. Over the years, the BLA and other Baloch ethnicity groups have intensified attacks on Punjabis and Sindhis, especially military personnel from elsewhere in Pakistan working in the region.
Additionally, they have also targeted foreign energy firms to exploit the region without sharing profits.
Earlier, a similar incident was reported in April this year. Nine passengers were removed from a bus near the Noshki area in Balochistan and they were shot dead after the gunmen checked their IDs. In another incident, unidentified gunmen shot six labourers who belonged to Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan’s Kech district.
Police had said these were targeted killings and these people were killed because of their ethnic background, Dawn reported.
Earlier, OpIndia reported how Pakistan launched ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’ military offensive after it was armed-twisted by Beijing to launch a brutal crackdown in the Balochistan area in the wake of rampant attacks on Chinese nationals. The report highlighted how Pakistan had earned notoriety for its “counter-terror operations” like the infamous ‘Operation Zarb-e-Azb’.
While Pakistan claims that these are counter-terror operations, several questions have been raised about their effectiveness and exacerbating Human suffering in the region including increased allegations of extra-judicial killings, forced displacements, and allowing pro-Pakistani Jihadi groups to flourish.
Several experts have stated there was a fundamental contradiction in the Pakistani military’s counter-terrorism approach. They pointed out that while the army goes after the terrorists who carried out attacks in Pakistan, it patronised those who attack its enemies.
A US-based expert on political Islam, Arif Jamal said that the military operation was never launched to target home-grown jihadists.
Pashtun and Baloch rebels fight against discrimination, resource exploitation and military coercion
Additionally, Pashtuns and Baloch nationals witnessed repressive measures (such as extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, discrimination, subjugation of non-Punjabi ethnicities, and surveillance) by the country’s security forces under such programs.
The infamous history of Pakistani “counter-terrorism” operations has gained prominence once again as it is carrying out repression in the Balochistan area in the name of ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’. In response, the BLA has launched a series of attacks on multiple government installations – including police stations and security forces’ camps across the province in the last 24 hours.
The BLA has reportedly claimed responsibility for killing 102 Pakistani soldiers in ongoing attacks targeting an army camp and military checkpoints along major highways in Balochistan, just six hours after it launched “Operation Herof”.
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on fire against the #Pakistan military across #Balochistan.
— Rahul Jha (@JhaRahul_Bihar) August 26, 2024
Report says alteat 60+ Pak military soldiers & police have been killed & an Important strategic bridge used by Pak Army & China in Balochistan blown up by Baloch rebels in the last night… pic.twitter.com/p6BUjF2hkt
According to a statement issued by BLA, over 40 soldiers were killed during an attack on the main Army camp in Bela. The statement said that the BLA’s fidayeen unit has maintained control over a significant portion of the camp for the last six hours.
However on their part, the Pakistani officials claimed that it has neutralised 12 ‘terrorists’ as security forces responded to attacks carried out at several places across Balochistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.
