The Baloch rebel group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Monday claimed that its ongoing operation, named Operation Herof Phase II, has been going on for over 40 hours across several districts of Balochistan. The group also alleges heavy causalities among Pakistani security personnel and control over multiple urban and rural areas of the province.
In multiple statements and press releases shared via its official platform, Hakkal, the BLA said that the operation had spread across a vast area of the province.
The group also released a video purportedly filmed during clashes in Gwadar, in which it identified a female “fidayeen” fighter whom it said was killed while carrying out attacks on Pakistani forces, according to a report by The Balochistan Post.
The group identified the woman as Hawa Baloch alias Droshum, and said the video was her “last message, recorded twelve hours before her martyrdom.”
According to sources cited by The Balochistan Post, Hawa Baloch was a writer, and her father, who had earlier links to the Baloch armed movement,was killed in combat several years ago.
In the video message, Hawa Baloch can be seen urging Baloch women to join what she described as the armed resistance. She accused Pakistan state of “oppressing Baloch women as well as men” and claimed that women in Baloch society were “neither intellectually nor practically weak.” She further added that its high time for women to “rise and seek justice.”
The BLA also named another female fidayeen, identifying her as 23-year-old Asifa Mengal. The group claimed that she carried out a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack on January 31, targeting the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Noshki.
Additionally, the group released a separate video featuring fidayeen Nako Fazal Baloch, whom it described as the Baloch Liberation Army’s “eldest Baloch fidayee,” underscoring his role in the ongoing campaign.
In two descriptive statement released by the BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, the group said its fighters had completed operations in areas comprising Kharan, Mastung, Tump and Pasni, while claiming that fighting was undergoing in several other places.
The statements also asserted that BLA fighters had operated in areas of Quetta and Noshki, where the group claimed that the military forces of Islamabad had been “pushed back.”
The BLA further alleged that more than 200 members of the Pakistan Army, police, and Frontier Corps were killed in the offensive, and that at least 17 people were taken captive.
The BLA also claimed that the real number of casualties suffered by security forces are higher, citing these figure as “preliminary and cautious estimates.”
In a different matter related to the operation, the BLA stated it had captured Deputy Commissioner of Noshki, Muhammad Hussain Hazara, and Assistant Commissioner Maria Shamoo. Later, the group has released both of them calling it as a “humanitarian gesture.”
The BLA has also admitted that 18 of its fighters were killed in the operation. As per the group, those who killed included 11 fidayeen from the Majeed Brigade, four fighters from the Fateh Squad, and three fighters of STOS unit.
