A group of unidentified armed men launched a series of coordinated attacks in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Friday. This group of masked men captured the Mangochar town, torched several government buildings, and occupied the Quetta Karachi Highway.

Advertisment

According to a report by Dawn, the armed group interrupted traffic along the national highway, stopping several vehicles, private cars, and passenger buses. They carried out searches and brought the traffic to a halt. 

Also read: US gives initial clearance of $3.5 billion missile sales to Saudi Arabia

The attackers then rushed to the Mangochar Bazar and started to set fire to government establishments such as the offices of Nadra, Judicial Complex, and National Bank of Pakistan.

Advertisment

Additionally, the main base of the Pakistan military has come under attack with intense gunfire and explosions.

An official said that an operation was launched in the Mangochar area to neutralise the armed men, and the traffic was restored at night.

Also read: 'Nation stands with you on India but not on Afghanistan': Fazl ur Rahman launches scurrilous attack on Pakistani establishment

Advertisment

A series of attacks

In a separate occurrence, armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire at a levies checkpost near Kot-Langove, and killed a Levies official named Haq Nawaz Langove. Nearby in a related incident, the Levies' official reported an explosion under a bridge on the Quetta Karachi Highway near the Rahimabad area of Kalat district. The explosion damaged a part of the bridge but did not result in any casualties.

Elsewhere, six people- including a woman and two children- were injured when gunmen fired at a passenger coach in the Khudokocha area of Mastung.

Also read: 'House of horror': Children aged 8 and 10, prisoned by parents since Covid, rescued

According to the local outlet, the Balochistan Post, there has been a significant increase in helicopter and drone patrols in the Mangochar town since last night. According to residents, these flights are not only a sign of surveillance but also a sign of preparations for possible military operations. The administration has imposed a curfew today, the locals are asked to remain confined indoors.

This latest attack appears to be a continuation of the series of attacks by two pro-independence groups Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), against the militarisation and exploitation of Balochistan infrastructure linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“Across Balochistan, the colonisers are constructing roads under the guise of development to facilitate the movement of their forces and accelerate the plundering of local resources,” said BLF in a statement.

Also read: Australia Election Result: Anthony Albanese secures historic second term as Labor Party set to retain majority