The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has taken responsibility for a wave of coordinated attacks carried out at 39 separate sites throughout Balochistan, reported the news agency ANI. In a press statement, the group stated that the operations are still underway and aim to achieve several strategic goals. The BLA’s recent activities signal a sharp escalation in its long-running demand for autonomy and control of local resources in Balochistan.
The recent attacks have targeted local police stations, military convoys, and infrastructure along major highways, including blockades on key roads, news agency ANI cited Jeeyand Baloch, a spokesperson for the BLA, as saying. The group’s spokesperson stated that a detailed statement regarding the attacks will be released to the media shortly. In a troubling sign of escalating repression, the Pakistan Army arrested a 75-year-old prominent Baloch activist, Zaheer Baloch, during Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in Quetta, reported ANI.
Sammi Deen Baloch, a prominent Baloch activist, condemned the arrest in a post on the social media platform X. She wrote, “A 75-year-old man, Zaheer Baloch, was arrested on the day of Eid ul-Fitr in Quetta for participating in a peaceful protest held by the families of missing persons and expressing solidarity with them.”
Deen Baloch criticized the state’s violent response to the peaceful protest, where families had gathered to demand the return of their loved ones. Balochistan has been the center of separatist movements for years, driven by political marginalization, economic exploitation, and military repression by the Pakistani state.
The Baloch Liberation Army, seeking independence, criticizes the extraction of the region’s natural resources without benefiting the local population and condemns the government’s denial of Baloch rights.
According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International cited by the news agency, Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies have allegedly abducted or killed thousands of Baloch activists, students, journalists, and political workers over the years.