Majeed Brigade, the fidayeen wing of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), has attacked a high-profile convoy of the ISI. The attack was carried out at Chakar Chowk in Turbat. On Saturday, a convoy of five vehicles was moving from Turbat Airport to the ISI headquarters. The BLA stated that its intelligence wing had received credible information indicating that the convoy included a delegation of senior officials from the secret agency. Soon after the attack, the Pakistan Army sealed the entire area, concealing information about casualties and losses.
Earlier, the Pakistan forces claimed that the attack targeted the police. However, the BLA clarified that it did not target police force vehicles. In fact, Pakistan forces targeted the police vehicles to cover up the attack on their own convoy.
In its statement, the BLA revealed that Sumaiya Qalandrani, a journalist by profession, executed the attack. Sumaiya has been associated with the BLA for seven years. She played a key role in the BLA’s media wing for over five years. For the past four years, she has undergone rigorous training under the Majeed Brigade.
Who is Sumaiya Qalandrani?
The attacks on Pakistan forces are a consequence of their oppressive policies and attitude towards the people of Balochistan. Cases of enforced disappearances are on the rise in the region, to which the BLA is countering through an armed struggle. In fact, Sumaiya Qalandrani herself was a victim of Pakistan-sponsored enforced disappearance. On 28th February 2011, Pakistan forces killed her uncle, Naeem Jan Qalandrani (17), and forcefully abducted her grandfather and several cousins from her hometown, Tootak in Khuzdar. She was the fiancée of Fidayee Rehan Baloch and the daughter-in-law of BLA’s founding leader, General Aslam Baloch.
It is worth noting that a female freedom fighter of the BLA has carried out this attack, marking it as the second fidayeen attack of its kind. Last year, Shari Baloch executed a self-sacrificing attack outside Karachi University, killing three Chinese officials.
The BLA has stated that hundreds of Baloch fidayeen, including women, are part of the Majeed Brigade and are ready to wreak havoc on the occupying forces of Pakistan and its ally China if they do not withdraw immediately.