Armed Clash Erupts Between Pro-Freedom Baloch and State-Backed Militia

QUETTA: An armed clash between the pro-freedom Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and a state-backed private militia has resulted in casualties.

The confrontation occurred in the bordering area of Dera Bugti and Barkhan Balochistan, where the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for killing and injuring several members of a “death squad”.

State media has confirmed that two members of the private militia were killed in the skirmish, with five others, including the younger brother of Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, sustaining injuries.

This incident has further intensified tensions between pro-freedom groups and Pakistani forces in the area who went to the aid of the death squad members in the name of a “clearance operation”.

The pro-freedom Baloch groups accuse Sarfaraz Bugti of operating a private militia supported by the Pakistani army, alleging that it carries out violent actions on behalf of the state.

CM Sarfaraz recently issued controversial remarks regarding the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, chief of the Bugit tribe and one of the prominent Baloch political leaders.

Sarfaraz stated that Nawab Bugti should not be referred to as a martyr, igniting outrage among pro-freedom Baloch factions.

Nawab Bugti was martyred in 2006 during the regime of former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf, and his death has been a rallying point for Baloch pro-freedom political parties striving for independence of Balochistan.