Baloch armed groups claim responsibility for attacks targeting Pakistani forces, energy infrastructure

Quetta, June 16 (IANS) Two Baloch armed groups have claimed responsibility for several attacks targeting Pakistani forces, police posts and energy infrastructure in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, local media reported on Tuesday.

In a statement, Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch claimed responsibility for series of attacks in Noshki, Panjgur and Gwadar districts, including an IED attack on Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, the seizure of police posts and the confiscation of weapons, The Balochistan Post reported.

In the statement, BLF spokesperson said that the two FC personnel were killed and several others injured after the group’s fighters targetted an FC vehicle with an improvised explosive device in the Maal area of Noshki on June 12.

The BLF has also claimed responsibility for an attack in Panjgur district on June 10, which claimed lives of two men and injured another man. In the statement, the group said that three men were linked with Pakistani forces and were travelling to an FC camp at the time of the attack. The group accused the men of being involved in activities against the Baloch nationalist movement, including participation in military-backed operations and enforced disappearances.

The group said its fighters set up a checkpoint in Noshki’s Kuchki area on June 9, where they carried out search in the vehicles, seized a police post and burned official records. In the statement, the group claimed that the blockade remained in place for about two hours.

The BLF said that its fighters established checkpoints at several places along the Dho-Bist Panjah Road in the Gobd Qalato area of Gwadar district on June 7. It mentioned that two police posts were seized and weapons, police vehicles and other equipment were confiscated, including one M-16 rifle and three Kalashnikov rifles. The group said surveillance cameras installed at police posts were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for destroying two gas wells at the Tobo site in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district. In a statement, BRA spokesperson Sarbaz Baloch also claimed responsibility for an attack on an Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) survey team operating in the same area, The Balochistan Post reported.

According to the statement, two company employees were killed as BRA fighters opened fire on the survey team. The BRA said the attacks were carried out to stop the extraction of natural resources from Balochistan, which it said was being conducted without the consent of the Baloch people.

The group accused Pakistan authorities of carrying out military operations in Dera Bugti for years to facilitate oil and gas exploration and extraction and said that such operations have led to civilian casualties, enforced disappearances, and large-scale displacement.

–IANS

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