The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Pakistan forces in Noshki. According to the BLA, 90 Pakistan Army personnel were killed in an ambush on a convoy of eight buses. The attack involved a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and subsequent gunfire. This incident follows a recent train hijacking by Baloch insurgents, raising questions about Pakistan's control over Balochistan. The attack may also impact Chinese investments in the region, particularly the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
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00:00We have some breaking news that's coming in another deadly Baloch attack has taken place on Pakistan forces
00:05Baloch army says that 90 Pakistan army men have been killed in Norshki
00:10Deadly ambush on the convoy of eight Pakistan army buses Baloch fighters surround buses
00:16Open fire after train hijack at Bolan Baloch targets Pakistan forces in Norshki
00:21Now 90 military personnel have been killed is what the BLA has said. The Majid Brigade, the Fidai unit of the Baloch Liberation Army
00:33targeted a convoy of the occupying Pakistani military a few hours ago in a VB IED Fidai attack near Rakshan Mill on the RCD highway in Norshki
00:43The convoy consisted of eight buses, one of which was completely destroyed in the explosion
00:47Immediately after the attack, the Fidai squad of the BLA advanced and completely surrounded another bus
00:53systematically eliminating all military personnel on board, bringing the total number of enemy casualties to 90
00:59The BLA has accepted responsibility for the attack. Now further details will be released soon
01:04But right now what we know is that another deadly attack has taken place, Baloch attack on the Pakistani forces
01:10with the Baloch army saying that 90 Pakistan army men have been killed in Norshki
01:15This was a deadly ambush on the convoy of eight Pakistan army buses with Baloch fighters surrounding the buses and opening fire
01:23After the train hijack at Bolan, Baloch has targeted Pakistan forces in Norshki and claimed 90 lives
01:31My colleague Gaurav Sawant is joining me on the phone line for more on this
01:34Gaurav, big news that is coming in, another deadly Baloch attack on Pakistan forces
01:39Now the Baloch army is saying that 90 Pakistan army men have been killed in Norshki. What more details can you get us?
01:45So this is the Majid Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army, it's the Fidai unit of the BLA
01:51and it's claimed that it's put out images of targeting a military convoy
01:55A Pakistan military convoy was targeted by a VBIED or it's a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device
02:04and apparently multiple vehicles, it's not just one bus but apparently multiple vehicles were
02:10targeted in this attack and this has happened right on the highway
02:14We're told right now the information is there were eight buses as part of this convoy
02:19Apparently there was also convoy protection but this vehicle-borne improvised explosive device
02:25of the Majid Brigade, it was a suicide bomber who managed to ram through the security convoy
02:31and ran into one of the buses, so one bus has been completely destroyed, there's partial damage
02:37to another bus, the remaining vehicles were able to get away, the Fateh squad, so you know this is
02:43like a planned ambush where so Majid Brigade carries out the suicide squad and the Fateh squad
02:50of the BLA in advance surrounded the other buses and they claim that eliminated all military
02:57personnel on board bringing the total number of Pakistan army fatalities and casualties to 9090
03:05waiting for more details and information coming in from the Pakistan army so far
03:09This is the information we've been able to get Chetna
03:13Right, you know Gaurav, this incident comes just a few days after the BLA insurgents hijacked a
03:17train with nearly 440 passengers, would you say that Pakistan establishment is losing control of Balochistan?
03:24So you know this from India, we can only report what Pakistani leadership and Pakistani people
03:31are saying, Maulana Fazlur Rehman is a very well respected political leader in Pakistan and Maulana
03:37Fazlur Rehman on the floor of Pakistan National Assembly said there are seven to eight districts
03:42of Balochistan where there is absolutely no control of the Pakistan army, so he's one person
03:48to say that and that too on the floor of the house, there are other political leaders including one
03:53Mr Gokhar who said that entire Balochistan there is no control of Pakistan army, Akhtar Mengal
04:00Akhtar Mengal is former chief minister of Pakistan's Balochistan and he's a very well
04:04respected Baloch leader, he's the former chief minister, former minister, he has said there's
04:10not one inch of Balochistan where the Pakistan army can claim it has any control whatsoever,
04:16so all of these would indicate that the situation is extremely grim and not just in Balochistan
04:22but also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there has been a series of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so if
04:28you notice this is practically 60 percent of Pakistan where the Pakistan army has actually
04:35or Pakistani state has zero control as of now, Chetna. You know Gaurav, 90 Pakistan army men
04:42have been killed in the attack is what the Baloch army is saying, so have the Baloch fighters
04:46managed to overwhelm Pakistan military completely? In Balochistan, if you were to go by what's
04:52happening in the past week alone, first they successfully hijack a train, they take over 400
04:58people hostage, they permit all the women and children and Baloch nationals to leave,
05:03they permit the elderly to leave, something that the Pakistan army wants to contest but then
05:08the survivors themselves tell Pakistani media that the Baloch fighters let them go. What does
05:14this indicate? That the Baloch fighters, you know, and then the terminology that the Baloch
05:18fighters are using, they say they want a prisoner of war exchange, so it's a war between two armies,
05:24the Baloch liberation army versus the Pakistan army, and they're strong enough to let women and
05:29children go, let the elderly go, and they kill all Pakistani security personnel once Pakistan
05:35refuses to negotiate with them. So one, they're firm, two, they're ruthless, and three, they are
05:41very kind to women and children. This would indicate that Pakistan army is in deep, deep trouble in
05:48Balochistan and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chetna. But Gaurav, with this attack, what can you tell
05:53us, are the Chinese investment in Balochistan under threat now? That's a very, very pertinent
06:00point that you raise. China has pledged 60 billion dollars in China-Pakistan economic corridor,
06:07it's invested close to 25 to 30 billion dollars by some accounts, but are they able to produce
06:13electricity? No. Are they able to even provide water to the Gwadar airport and to the base there?
06:21No. Are Chinese investments now pouring in? No. The activities that started, are they continuing?
06:28No. So it just indicates that President Xi Jinping's pet project China-Pakistan economic
06:33corridor and this part of Belt and Road initiative has completely collapsed, and one reason for that
06:38is total failure. Pakistan army raised two division strengths to protect the China-Pakistan
06:45economic corridor. It put a major general rank officer in charge, then it upgraded it to a
06:51lieutenant general rank officer. Despite doing all of that, none of it was able to protect the
06:57China-Pakistan economic corridor or Chinese interest. And basically China does not want
07:02economy, or it may want economy in the long run, it basically sought a strategic port
07:07in the Arabian Sea, and it does appear that that too is in trouble, because people in Balochistan
07:14and the Baloch Liberation Army, and you know Chetna, these are multiple organizations who
07:18have now come under one umbrella. So you have the Baloch Liberation Army, you have the Baloch
07:23National Guard, you have the Baloch Republican Guard, you have the Baloch security forces.
07:33Right, we're going to try and get back to Gaurav Sawant for more on this.