Quetta, March 19 (NVI) Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed to have killed 354 Pakistani soldiers and injured over 100 in the twin-attacks – Jaffar Express hijack and suicide blast on security convoy – in Bolan and Noshki districts of Balochistan, respectively and asserted that these demonstrated the prowess the freedom-seeking militant outfit has acquired.
In its latest statement, the BLA said the twin operations of March 11 and March 16 constituted the Second Phase of its ‘Operation Dara-e-Bolan’, whose First Phase was carried out in February last year when the Mach city of Balochistan was captured for over 100 hours by the fighters of the outfit.
“Baloch Liberation Army today announces the successful conclusion of ‘Operation Dara-e-Bolan’ on March 18.
“This operation consisted of two parts, the first phase of which was completed in February 2024 with the capture of Mach city while the second phase began with the attack on the Jaffar Express in March 2025 and was completed after a week of intense battle,” said the statement issued by BLA spokesman Jeeyand Baloch to NVI.
“In this operation, the occupying Pakistani army suffered the biggest defeat in its history in Balochistan, where more than 354 personnel were eliminated over 100 were wounded and 214 personnel were taken hostage,” he added.
He noted that “due to the enemy’s stubbornness and refusal to exchange prisoners of war, all the (214) hostages were executed.”
The BLA spokesman underlined that all those (264) killed in the Jaffar Express operation were Pakistani military personnel, with their identities properly established, and all the civilian passengers of the train were released voluntarily by the outfit’s fighters without any harm.
“During this operation, 13 BLA freedom fighters embraced martyrdom including six Fidayeen from the Majeed Brigade, four fighters from the Fateh Squad and three fighters from STOS,” he said.
“These martyrs, by sacrificing their lives, made it clear to the enemy that the Baloch national resistance is invincible, and that the occupying army will have to retreat from the Baloch motherland sooner or later,” the spokesman asserted.
Among these martyrs was Sangat Beg Muhammad alias Tariq who was awarded the war title of “Sagaar-e-Baloch” by BLA in recognition of his exceptional battle services, he said, adding this is the second-highest war honour of the organization.
“The operation (Phase 2 of Dara-e-Bolan) began with an attack on the Jaffar Express on March 11 where BLA freedom fighters dealt a crushing blow to the enemy, eliminating over 30 Army, Frontier Corps and police personnel and capturing 214 military personnel,” Jeeyand Baloch said.
Revealing details of the Pakistani security personnel who were held hostage, the spokesman said 45 were from the 41st Division of the Army, 56 from the 17th Azad Kashmir Regiment, 47 from the EME Centre, 15 from the 25th Baloch Regiment, 26 from the 6th Armoured Regiment and 25 from the Infantry School.
“As per the laws of BLA and international rules of war, all these personnel were presented before the Baloch National Resistance Court where they were sentenced to death based on irrefutable evidence of their involvement in Baloch genocide, enforced disappearances and war crimes,” he said.
Underlining that BLA always respects international laws of war and human rights principles, he said accordingly, instead of immediately implementing the court decision against these prisoners, the outfit offered the occupying army a proposal for exchange of prisoners of war.
Despite being fully aware of the enemy’s breach of promises, cunning nature and deceit, a 48-hour ultimatum was given, he recalled.
“Half of the arrested (military) personnel were confined in the bogies of the Jaffar Express and handed over to the Fidayeen of the Majeed Brigade who were given clear instructions that if the enemy (Pakistan) made any military advances, the hostages should be executed and the attacking military commandos should be eliminated,” the spokesman disclosed.
“As expected, the enemy, drunk with power, took the path of aggression and instead of releasing the prisoners of war, launched a military operation. However, only five Fidayeen of the Majeed Brigade eliminated several highly-trained Zarrar Company SSG commandos of the Pakistani army for two days,” he said.
“After eliminating dozens of enemy personnel, when their last stock of bullets ran out, they (5 BLA fighters) embraced martyrdom with their last bullets, making it clear to the enemy that the Baloch resistance would continue under any circumstances,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, special units of BLA the Fateh Squad and STOS were able to divide the remaining prisoners of war into two groups and shift them to safe camps in the mountains, he said.
“But when the occupying army chose military aggression over negotiations and attempted to attack BLA positions, the prisoners of war were sentenced to death as per the decision of the Baloch National Resistance Court, following instructions from the Senior Command Council,” Jeeyand Baloch said.
“The entire responsibility for this decision lies with the Pakistani army which despite having an opportunity they chose to pursue a path of war madness instead of releasing its personnel,” he said.
Fierce clashes with the occupying forces continued until March 17, in which the enemy suffered irreparable casualties and was ultimately forced to retreat from Bolan, he said.
“In these clashes, seven freedom fighters were martyred while vigorously defending the areas under the control of the BLA,” the spokesman said, adding “They sacrificed their lives to inflict severe damage on the enemy’s fighting force and delivered a humiliating defeat on the Balochistan front.”
Having engaged the enemy in Bolan, BLA launched another decisive attack in Noshki district, he said.
On March 16, “demonstrating its military prowess, combat skills and intelligence superiority, Baloch Liberation Army targeted a convoy of 8 Pakistani army buses in Noshki using a VBIED (Vehicle-Borne IED) Fidayeen attack,” he said.
The convoy was carrying Pakistani Army personnel who were returning to their units after vacation and it was attacked by the Majeed Brigade, the spokesman said.
“Due to the explosion, the enemy personnel fell unconscious, allowing the BLA’s Fateh Squad to ambush and neutralize all the personnel in the second bus one by one. After this, the remaining six buses were ambushed by the freedom fighters,” he said.
A total of 90 military personnel travelling the convoy were killed and over 50 were left wounded, Jeeyand Baloch said.
“Thus, in just one-week BLA eliminated over 354 enemy personnel and wounded more than 100 while also shooting down a drone reflecting the success of the Baloch resistance force against the enemy’s modern military technology,” he added.
The inside intelligence provided by the BLA’s intelligence wing “ZIRAB,” played an important role in this entire operation. After thoroughly analyzing the enemy’s movements, military plans and strategy, BLA took timely action which resulted in a complete shift in the balance of the battle and inflicted heavy losses on the occupying army. (NVI)
