The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has announced plans to execute seven detainees captured near Quetta after a proposed prisoner exchange failed. The group’s spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, said that the occupied Pak military did not engage in negotiations within the one-week deadline set by the BLA.
According to the BLA, the seven individuals were captured on June 20 during an operation near Zarghoon, Quetta by BLA’s Fateh Squad. They were reportedly tried in a Baloch national court and found guilty of collaborating with Pak military and intelligence agencies. The group said that these detainees were involved in the genocide of Baloch people.
The BLA had initially captured ten individuals but released three after finding them innocent. The remaining seven, mostly from Punjab province, now face execution following the decision of the BLA Command Council.
BLA on 26 June offered a one-week ultimatum for a prisoner exchange, adhering to international warfare principles and was willing to release the prisoners under the condition of a prisoner exchange. The BLA spokesperson pointed out that this is the fourth instance where the Army have not accepted their prisoner exchange offers, resulting in the deaths of detained personnel.
Families of the captives protested outside the Balochistan Assembly on June 29, demanding their release. In response, Pak-occupied-Balochistan’s Interior Minister Ziaullah Langove and Livestock & Dairy Development Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar met with the families, assuring to rescue the abductees.
However, instead of negotiating, Pak forces reportedly launched a large-scale military operation in the Kalat and Bolan areas on June 30, which is still ongoing.
Since 1948, the Pakistan Army has forcefully occupied the resource-rich region of Balochistan and, to exploit it indefinitely, has launched scathing attacks on the Baloch community. Therefore, freedom fighters like the BLA have been engaged in a long-standing revolution against the Pakistan Army.