Quetta: The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting military personnel, death squad members and a police station in Quetta, Washuk, and Balgatar.
In a statement issued to the media, BLF spokesperson Major Gwhram Baloch said that on the night of December 7 at around 9:10 p.m., BLF fighters carried out an emergency operation based on intelligence received from the group’s secret wing and targeted a vehicle of death squad members in Killi Kamalo, Sariab area of Quetta. As a result of the attack, an alleged death squad member identified as Muzammil Zehri son of Mir Saleem Zehri was killed, while two others were injured.
The spokesperson said that Muzammil Zehri had been involved in the enforced disappearance of youths and various criminal activities in and around Quetta. He further claimed that prior to the attack, Muzammil had left the house of Pasand Khan Muhammadzai and that both Pasand Khan and Muzammil Zehri had been operating under the patronage of Shafiq Mengal, whom he described as a key figure in the death squad in Balochistan.
The BLF spokesperson further stated that on the night of December 9 at around 10:00 p.m., BLF fighters besieged a police station in the Nag area of Washuk and took the on-duty staff into custody temporarily. During the initial search, no weapons were found at the police station. However, acting on specific intelligence, BLF fighters later raided the house of the station in-charge, where they allegedly recovered hidden official weapons. The recovered weapons were seized and all police personnel were later released unharmed.
According to the statement, in another operation carried out on December 9 at around 8:30 p.m., BLF fighters attacked a military camp in the Sahaki area of Balgatar from two different directions using heavy weapons. The spokesperson said that Pakistani forces responded with mortar shelling, which he claimed targeted civilian areas.
The BLF spokesperson said the organization accepts responsibility for targeting the military, death squad members and police in the operations carried out in Quetta, Washuk and Balgatar.
