Balochistan: Pakistan Army’s War On Terror And Body Bags

Islamabad’s Call to Arms
Two things happened almost simultaneously in Beijing and Islamabad on November 19 last year. One, China’s Defence Ministry announced that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will participate in a joint military exercise in Pakistan “to enhance the capability for conducting joint counterterrorism operations,” and two, Pakistan’s Federal Apex Committee of the National Action Plan (NAP) approved a “comprehensive military operation” (Emphasis added) against armed groups in the restive Balochistan province.
Was This A Mere Coincidence?
Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch did try to quash media reports that the NAP was forced to take this decision due to pressure from Beijing, saying “Pakistan and China have a robust dialogue and cooperation on a range of issues, including counterterrorism and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.” However, by adding that “We will continue to work with our Chinese brothers for the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions in Pakistan,” she unwittingly let the cat out of the bag!
The FO’s attempt to suggest that Islamabad’s authorising a “comprehensive military operation” in Balochistan was an independent decision and not the consequence of Beijing’s prodding found no takers, simply because connected developments contradicted this claim. Readers would recall that less than a month before the NAP’s announcement, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong had publicly aired Beijing’s annoyance on Pakistan army's failure to prevent attacks on Chinese nationals and CPEC assets by saying, "It is unacceptable for us to be attacked twice in only six months,” as well as demanding action against “all anti-China terrorist groups.”
Rawalpindi On Rampage
Even though Islamabad or the Pakistan army didn’t reveal any details of the envisaged “comprehensive military operation,” but thanks to past experience, it was abundantly clear as to how things would unfold on ground. While the army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) boasted of how several Baloch fighters had been “sent to hell” by the security forces in 'intelligence based operations’ (IBOs), it expectedly maintained a stoic silence on the inordinately large number of Baloch people being subjected to enforced disappearances during IBOs and the series of public protests it has triggered.
Though accurate data isn't available, to say that the number of Baloch men abducted by Pakistani security forces is far more than fatalities suffered by Baloch fighters as claimed by ISPR, is definitely not an exaggeration. According to media reports, more than two dozen Baloch youth have been abducted by security forces in January alone and even boys in their early teens aren’t being spared. A case in point is the recent abduction of 15-year- old Ans Ahmed from Khuzdar.
Paank, the human rights department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) meticulously maintains an accurate record of excesses committed by the Pakistan army and various agencies under its command. Its November 2024 report details 31 cases of enforced disappearances, 12 extra-judicial executions and 34 incidents of Baloch youth being tortured by Pakistani security forces. The December Paank report lists five incidents of extra-judicial killings, 22cases of enforced disappearances and 29 instances of Baloch youth being subjected to torture.
Baloch Armed Groups’ Response
If Rawalpindi had reckoned that Baloch fighters could be intimidated through brute force and locals terrorised into submission by orchestrating extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances, it made a humongous error in judgment. Baloch armed groups have responded to the Pakistan army’s brutality by stepping up its strikes against Pakistani security forces. By carrying out a spate of determined attacks on an unprecedented scale, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has also exposed the innate hollowness of Pakistan army chief Gen Syed Asim Munir’s oft-repeated claims of the Pakistan army being in complete control of things in Balochistan, and the audacious daylight attack on the main bazaar of Zehri tehsil of Khuzdar district on January 8 is a case in point.
In this operation, approximately 80 BLA fighters descended onto the marketplace from the surrounding mountains at about 11 AM and took control of the entire area by setting up checkpoints. They set fire to multiple government buildings and offices as well as a bank and a Levies police station. The BLA fighters even made speeches using the main mosque’s loudspeaker and after spending at least eight hours in this area dispersed unmolested, taking with them more than PKR 90 million, 20 AK 47 rifles along with 4,000 rounds of ammunition, two Levies vehicles and 10 motorcycles.
Doesn’t the fact that the Pakistan army failed to reach Zehri and decimate the BLA fighters allowed BLA fighters and instead allow them to have a field day for eight hours reveal a monumental military failure?
Next is Saturday night’s attacks in the Mangocher area of Kalat district of Balochistan in which 18 Pakistani security force personnel were killed. If one goes by what ISPR has claimed, then it appears that BLA fighters had attempted to establish roadblocks “on behest of inimical and hostile forces (and) this cowardly act of terrorism was aimed at disrupting the peaceful environment of Balochistan by targeting mainly the innocent civilians.”
The ISPR statement on this incident went on to state that the security forces and law enforcement agencies who were immediately mobilised “successfully thwarted the evil design of terrorists and sent twelve terrorists to hell, ensuring security and protection of the local populace,” and that 18 Pakistani security force personnel lost their lives during this operation. What ISPR wants the people to believe is that BLA is the real villain terrorising innocent locals, whereas the Pakistani security forces are the real knights-in-shining-armour coming to their rescue even at the cost of their lives. A fantastic narrative indeed!
Lies Exposed
Like all other irregular armed groups fighting far larger and much better equipped armed forces, BLA too uses hit-and-run tactics and so it’s inconceivable that its fighters who had established roadblocks would violate its basic rule of engagement by staying put to fight and in the process lose a dozen of its cadres. Similarly, ISPR’s admission that 18 soldiers had lost their lives in this clearance operation is equally perplexing as it gives an impression of a pitched battle taking place, which in this situation doesn't make any sense. However, it’s the ISPR's claim that 11 more Baloch fighters were killed during subsequent “sanitisation operations” during which “multiple hideouts were also busted” that's downright incredulous and gives an eerie feeling of déjà vu.
Multiple issues make ISPR’s assertion sound dubious. Firstly, while locating well-concealed BLA hideouts in the rugged mountainous terrain of Balochistan is understandably a tedious task for the Pakistan army, it’s really surprising how it still manages to unearth “multiple hideouts” within hours of each and every major strike by armed groups. Secondly, whereas there are limited choices available to armed groups for taking up positions when establishing roadblocks, they have multiple options while selecting hideout by picking up locations providing inherent defensibility and secure escape routes.
Hence, the fact that Pakistani security forces lost 18 soldiers while clearing roadblocks but were able to gun down 11 BLA fighters entrenched in hideouts without suffering any casualties, though theoretically possible, is practically as improbable as discovering multiple hideouts overnight. So, given its penchant for disinformation and history of being economical with the truth, ISPR’s version of the Kalat incident requires to be taken with much more than just a pinch of salt!
The Reality
The Balochistan Post has mentioned that Kalat Deputy Commissioner Bilal Shabbir “further reported that a van carrying 17 soldiers from Panjgur to Quetta was ambushed near the mountainous area of Khazeni, where armed men engaged in a fierce battle with paramilitary Levies and Frontier Corps personnel.” While he may have got the number of occupants in the ambushed vehicle wrong, Shabbir's revelation that the Pakistani security forces personnel were hapless victims of an ambush effectively exposes the lies propagated by ISPR that these soldiers were killed while clearing roadblocks.
ISPR’s attempt to conceal Pakistan army’s incomprehensible failure to secure the route along which the ill-fated van was travelling is understandable- how can Rawalpindi accept that due to its unpardonable lapse, 18 Levies and Frontier Corps personnel unwittingly ended up becoming sitting ducks and thus lost their lives? While the Pakistan army which revels in 'sending people to hell' would certainly have produced 23 body bags to substantiate its claim, the first question that automatically comes to one’s mind is whether all the deceased were indeed BLA fighters ?
With the Pakistan army making Balochistan a ‘no-go’ zone for the independent media, and the legislature as well as judiciary turning Nelson's eye to ongoing enforced disappearances orchestrated by Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies, ISPR’s claims cannot be verified. However, when one ponders over the undeniable fact that ISPR’s narrative outrightly defies all laws of probability and then links the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, a method in all this madness clearly emerges. Yet, Rawalpindi is well aware that there's no need to worry- while the international community doesn't seem to care for the Baloch people, Pakistan's legislature and judiciary dare not cross swords with the country's all powerful military.
And since dead men tell no tales, ultimately it's Rawalpindi’s words and not the truth that prevails!
Nilesh Kunwar is a retired Indian Army Officer who has served in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He is a keen ‘Kashmir-Watcher,’ and after retirement is pursuing his favourite hobby of writing for newspapers, journals and think-tanks. Views expressed above are the author's own
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