QUETTA: The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has issued a detailed statement claiming responsibility for the July 8 attack on the residence and alleged headquarters of Shafiq Mengal in Khuzdar, describing it as the opening phase of a new campaign named “Operation Marg-e-Ghaddaran” (Death to Traitors).
In the statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch claimed the assault was carried out by the group’s Majeed Brigade suicide unit while Shafiq Mengal was allegedly meeting members of his armed network and other militant groups at the compound.
The BLA alleged that its intelligence wing, Zirab, had monitored the compound for several weeks and claimed it was being used as a coordination centre for operations against the Baloch national movement. The group further alleged that Pakistani intelligence officials, members of ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and former Afghan military personnel were present at the meeting.
According to the statement, the operation began with a vehicle-borne suicide bombing that destroyed the compound’s outer security positions, followed by a second suicide attacker who detonated explosives inside the complex. The BLA claimed eight additional fighters then entered the compound and engaged security personnel in a gun battle lasting more than four hours.
The group claimed it killed 34 members of what it described as Shafiq Mengal’s “death squad”, along with several police and Levies personnel whom it alleged were operating as part of the same network. It also claimed casualties among intelligence personnel and foreign militants, alleging that these losses were being concealed.
The BLA alleged that Shafiq Mengal was inside the compound during the attack and escaped through an underground passage before fleeing in a bulletproof vehicle. The group claimed its fighters fired at the vehicle but failed to stop his escape.
The statement said three Majeed Brigade fighters remained inside the compound for hours and, after exhausting their ammunition, took their own lives in line with what the group described as its “last bullet philosophy” to avoid capture. It further claimed that five remaining fighters, including one who was wounded, successfully escaped despite a large security cordon.
In a lengthy section of the statement, the BLA accused Shafiq Mengal of leading armed groups allegedly involved in enforced disappearances, torture, and killings of Baloch political activists over many years. It also accused him of links to banned militant organisations, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and ISIS, and alleged involvement in sectarian attacks, including the Hazara killings in Quetta and the 2017 Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine bombing in Sehwan. The statement additionally linked him to the Totak mass graves discovered in Khuzdar.
Concluding the statement, the BLA declared that Operation Marg-e-Ghaddaran would continue and said it had established a dedicated unit tasked with targeting individuals it describes as “traitors” to the Baloch national cause. The group warned that the Khuzdar attack was “only the first phase” of a broader campaign.
