Exclusive: Baloch rebels hit Pak again; 700 killed in 286 attacks in 6 months
The offensive also targeted infrastructure, destroying 133 vehicles, hijacking a train, and damaging 17 military installations. In addition, BLA forces captured a diverse cache of over 115 weapon types along with large ammunition reserves. This escalation marks an intensified phase of insurgency aimed at weakening state control over the region while demonstrating enhanced operational coordination and territorial reach.The intelligence data on BLA's operations in the first half of 2025 resulted in significant territorial gains, with at least 45 strategic locations reportedly seized from Pakistani control.The BLA has made announcements regarding restructuring all operations with a strategic focus on the Pakistani forces. The organisation's tactics have increasingly focused on disrupting supply lines, communication, and military logistics to erode Pakistani operational capacity in Balochistan.The destruction of 17 military installations and the seizure of extensive weapons stockpiles have shown the consolidation of their foothold in the region. BLA's campaign throughout the first semester of 2025 shows a well-organised insurgency capable of inflicting both tactical and psychological setbacks on Pakistani forces.The fatality figure for Pakistan exceeds 697 army personnel while 36 BLA fighters , including seven Fidayeen fighters, lost their lives in different operations. The combination of high-frequency attacks, special operations, and targeted sabotage has shown the aggressive operational tempo of the BLA.Pakistan has been trying to keep its casualties, especially in the BLA operations, under wraps. The Jaffer express attack and multiple other operations by the BLA have inflicted Pakistan with severe losses. Earlier this year, the BLA announced the unification of multiple Baloch fighter fronts into one strong force with a new combat strategy.- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#India-Pakistan#Pakistan
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Indian Express
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Military Digest: Another Kargil Vijay Diwas, another reminder of some uneasy questions that should not be wished away
In just a few days, the country will celebrate the 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas, marking the successful eviction of the Pakistan Army from the icy heights it had intruded upon in 1999. However, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the failures that allowed Pakistani troops to occupy Indian territory without detection. Celebrated annually on July 26, Kargil Vijay Diwas honours India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War of 1999. And while the bravery of the young officers and troops who snatched victory from the enemy's hands in the most treacherous terrains must be commemorated, it is equally important not to forget that there are many questions which remain unanswered till today. There have been numerous public accounts in recent years where senior officers have revealed that there were tell-tale signs indicating something was amiss weeks or months before the intrusions were actually discovered. Officers who were part of the higher echelons at the time have claimed over the years that it was known to Military Operations (MO) Directorate and Military Intelligence (MI) that Pakistan Army was replacing regular infantry battalions along the Line of Control (LoC) with Northern Light Infantry (NLI) units, the ones which eventually intruded into Indian territory. They claimed that the intelligence agencies and Army leadership made insufficient efforts to determine the reasons for this move, as well as where they were being utilised and for what purposes. The unrealistic frontage of 121 (Independent) Infantry Brigade headquartered in Kargil was 227 km, and it had about eight to nine battalions, including a BSF battalion under its Order of Battle (ORBAT). There was one battalion each in Dras, Kaksar, Chhani Gund, one in the central sector and one in Batalik. 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He also said that he briefed higher headquarters on the sand model in the operations room and war-gamed it in August or September 1998. In Mushkoh, posts were vacated in the winter for six months and in Batalik for four to five months. The then brigade commander claimed that he advised against removing the battalions from these places, but they were still removed, which resulted in gaps being created on the LoC that the enemy exploited. According to Lt Gen K H Singh, who commanded the 27 Rajput Battalion during the Kargil conflict, a significant information gap existed at the end of 1998. By March 1999, there were reasonable inputs about the intrusions by Pakistanis. The General also said that tell-tale signs of the intrusions were revealed much earlier than when they were actually discovered in May 1999, and he gave examples of having seen signs of intruders while on a helicopter sortie with the GOC of the Division. In this context, a former officer of the 5th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (5 Para), ex-Major Manish Bhatnagar, has also raised several questions regarding the discovery of the intrusions and how these were subsequently handled during the conduct of operations. Bhatnagar was court-martialled in 2001 and dismissed from service. He had been found guilty of 'acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline' and handed out what seemed to be an excessive punishment disproportionate to the offence. The more serious charge against him pertained to disobeying a command to attack a position reportedly occupied by the Pakistan army. However, this charge could not be proven during his court-martial, and Bhatnagar was found not guilty. Bhatnagar contended during his trial that he had reported Pakistani intrusions well before they were discovered in May 1999 but that the Army top brass had disregarded his warnings. 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Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami projects force with a big rally in Dhaka
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party rallied in the capital on Saturday to show their strength before an election expected next year, as the nation stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus said that the next election would be held in April. But his administration didn't rule out a possibility of polls in February, which has been strongly demanded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies. Jamaat-e-Islami, which had sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, had said that it would mobilize 1 million people on Saturday. While Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971. In late March 1971, Pakistan's military had launched a violent crackdown on the city of Dhaka, which was then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as Bangladesh. The party on Saturday placed a seven-point demand on the Yunus-led administration to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election; justice for all mass killings; essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year's mass uprising. It also wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election. Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami had spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally. On Saturday morning, they continued to stream toward Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army had surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on Dec. 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war. 'We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,' Iqbal Hossain, 40, told The Associated Press. 'We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.' Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present. 'Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book, Quran,' said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student. 'If all the Islamist parties join hands soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.' The party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said that the struggle in 2024 was to eliminate 'fascism' from the country, but this time there will be another fight against corruption and extortion. Rahman, 66, fainted twice as he addressed his supporters, but quickly returned to continue to speak surrounded by other leaders on the stage. 'How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight … We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight (against corruption) collectively by uniting the strength of the youth to eliminate corruption,' Rahman said. It wasn't immediately clear why he fainted. He was later taken to a hospital for tests. The event was the first time that the party was allowed to hold a rally at the site since 1971. To many, the decision signaled a shift supported by Yunus' government in which Islamists are gaining momentum with further fragmentation of Bangladesh's politics and the shrinking of liberal forces. Hasina's Awami League party, in a statement on X, reacted sharply for allowing it to hold the rally on that politically sensitive site. It said that the move 'marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people — dead and alive — who fought against the evil axis (in 1971),' the statement said. Hasina, whose father was the independence leader and the country's first president, is a fierce political rival of Jamaat-e-Islami. The party is expected to contest 300 parliamentary seats and is attempting to forge alliances with other Islamist groups and parties in hopes of becoming a third force in the country behind the BNP, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Hasina's former ruling Awami League party. The party had previously shared power with the BNP, and it had two senior Cabinet members under Zia in 2001-2006. After Hasina was ousted, tensions grew between parties over reforms agenda undertaken by the Yunus government, which is facing challenges to establish order in the country. The government has been criticized by Hasina's party and others for using force in a confrontation with protesters in a Hasina stronghold on Wednesday, where four people died. Their families complained that authorities didn't conduct autopsies and hurriedly buried or cremated their relatives. Yunus' office said that the government was doing everything lawfully in Gopalganj, the district where the violence occurred. Jamaat-e-Islami has now established close ties with a new political party formed by students who led the anti-Hasina uprising. Both Jamaat-e-Islami and the students' National Citizen Party also promote an anti-India campaign. The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since Aug. 5. She is facing charges of crimes against humanity. The United Nations said in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the anti-Hasina uprising in July-August last year.
