While Baloch Liberation Army [BLA] attacks against security forces, non-locals and Chinese nationals working on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] projects are commonplace, Operation Herof carried out by this armed group on August 26 stands out for two reasons.

One, its scale has been unprecedented, and two, Pakistan army’s phenomenally articulate media wing Inter Services Public Relations [ISPR] has been unusually guarded while disclosing details about the multiple attacks and military casualties.

What one gathers from the ISPR statements is that while Pakistani security forces neutralised 21 BLA cadres and wounded several others, 10 security force personnel and four law enforcement agency [LEA] members lost their lives during clearance operations.

However, in a surprising departure from its well established procedures and protocols, ISPR hasn’t disclosed names of those army personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty. This glaring omission raises suspicion that there’s definitely something that the Pakistan army is trying to hide.

On its part, the BLA initially posted the names alongwith photographs of 10 of its fighters who were killed during Operation Herof on social media. The dead include nine members of Majeed Brigade [BLA’s suicide squad] and one belonging to BLA’s Fateh squad.

The deceased Majeed Brigade members include one 22 year old female law student from Gwadar who detonated an explosive-laden vehicle at the Pakistan army camp gate in Bela. The person who led this attack was a ‘second generation’ BLA fighter who followed the footsteps of his father and younger brother [both BLA cadres] who were killed in encounters with the Pakistan army.

The attackers included a former Pakistan army soldier who after deserting service had joined BLA, the relative of a BLA fighter who had been killed during the 2018 attack on Chinese Consulate in Karachi and a cadre who was only 20 years old. While attacks on military targets during Operation Herof were carried out by the Majeed Brigade, the Fateh and Special Tactical Operations Squads of BLA set up roadblocks along major highways in Balochistan to prevent reinforcements.

BLA has stated that its fighters had not only completely overrun the Bela army camp but also prevented thwarted efforts of reinforcements to recapture it for 10 hours. BLA has also claimed that 130 Pakistani soldiers were killed during Operation Herof and it had lost only 10 fighters. On the other hand, ISPR has........

© Eurasia Review