Baloch Army pounds Pakistani Forces with 67 attacks in first-half of 2020

From targeting Islamabad’s military convoys to carrying out bombings of critical communication infrastructure installed by defense contractors – Baloch rebels intensify their struggle against the atrocities and human rights violations carried out by Pakistani forces

New Delhi: Continuing to oppose the barbaric atrocities and brazen human rights violations carried out by the Pakistani forces, armed group of Baloch fighters in the past six months has carried out more than 60 attacks on Islamabad’s military.

The attacks primarily targeting Pakistani soldiers, convoys, military teams and contractors have been observed to have intensified, with instances of unexplained disappearances of Baloch men and women also increasing in the region.

According to a report released by the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) – a pro-independence organization, since January the rebel group has launched 67 attacks on Pakistani forces, killing more than 131 soldiers. The attacks also left more than 100 Pakistani army men with serious injuries. The BLF also claimed responsibility for destroying 10 military vehicles, one armored van, and two motorcycles.

The report also provided details of the damage caused to critical infrastructure installed by Pakistani forces on Baloch lands. The BLF report highlighted the bombing of three mobile network towers installed by Islamabad’s military contractors in Balochistan.

The three attacks included the demolition of a military cell tower erected in the Gazzi area of Pirandar, in Awaran district in February, followed by the bombings of the Ufone cell tower in Bundiki area of Mashkay in March and another communications-network tower in the same region in June. The BLF report claimed that the towers were reportedly used by Pakistani armed forces and the death squads operating in the region. The attack on the critical infrastructure also witnessed the killing of two military contractors working for the Frontier Works Organization – a Pakistani army construction company.

The series of attacks also included the targeting of two mining trucks loaded with chromite near the Jahani Kaur in Kech district in April.

Meanwhile, according to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), during the first 12 days of this year, Pakistan has recorded a total of 22 fatalities (18 civilians, three Security Force, SF, personnel and one militant) in five incidents of killing (till January 12). Out of these fatalities, 18 deaths including 17 civilian casualties and one military were reported from Balochistan.

The SATP’s – Balochistan: Assessment 2020 Report – also compared the fatalities witnessed in 2019. As per the report, through 2019, among Pakistan’s four provinces, Balochistan accounted for the maximum number of fatalities (180), followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (130), Punjab (28), and Sindh (25). In fact, since 2016, Balochistan has maintained its top position in the number of overall fatalities among the four provinces.