The Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), a coalition of Baloch separatists has claimed responsibility for downing a helicopter of Pakistan Army.
The BRAS, in a statement delivered to Reuters, claimed its fighters had targeted the copter with an anti-aircraft weapon. A senior Pakistan military official dismissed the insurgents' claim as propaganda and fake news.
The wreckage of the helicopter was found near Musa Goth in the Lasbela district earlier on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The military's media wing had said that all the six officers on board including Commander XII Corps Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali embraced shahadat (martyrdom), adding that the accident had occurred due to bad weather. Those killed also include, Brigadier Amjad Hanif, Brigadier Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed, Major M Talha Manan and Naik Mudassar Fayyaz.
Baloch militants have for decades waged an insurgency against the Pakistani government in the southwestern province, complaining that its rich gas and mineral resource are unfairly exploited to the benefit of other parts of the country.
The province is also home to deep-water Gawadar port, which China has been developing as part of a multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to link road and sea routes with Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.
The spokesperson for BRAS claimed that the helicopter was the target of its fighters and added that Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali, who had continued to serve as Director General of Military Intelligence and Inspector General of the Frontier Corps South of Balochistan, was directly involved in forced disappearances and the Baloch genocide. Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali was one of the six Pakistani commanders who were on board the helicopter, supervising the flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan.
"Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) will continue to carry lethal attacks against the enemy (Pakistan army) until the full withdrawal of the enemy forces and the liberation of Baloch motherland", the statement of BRAS added.
It may be pointed out that BRAS aka Baloch Nation Liberation Coalition is the umbrella organization of at least four ethnic separatist groups in Balochistan and the Sindh province of Pakistan.
According to Asian Lite International, BRAS was created in November 2018 and made fast progress when in 2020 a Sindhi separatist group Sundhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) joined in with the BRAS alliance, comprising the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the Baloch Republication Guard (BRG) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA).
One of the focus of BRAS and SRA alliance was to target Chinese presence and interests in Balochistan and the Sindh province.
Rebel operations against Pakistan Army
It may be recalled that in February this year, seven Pakistani soldiers and at least 13 militants were killed in clashes in restive Balochistan province, the army said, while separatists claimed dozens more had died in fighting, the AFP reported
Baloch separatists have stepped up attacks against Pakistan forces in recent weeks -- including with a deadly bomb blast in the eastern megacity of Lahore in January.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said Pakistan forces came under attack in the Naushki and Panjgur districts of Balochistan, an oil- and gas-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
In a statement on their Telegram channel, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed to have killed dozens of Pakistani troops in attacks on security personnel camps.
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