Pak Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claims Baloch rebels have US weapons | World News

Pakistani Defense Minister Khwaja Asif admitted that the Baloch rebels, who carried out a series of attacks in the Balochistan province last week, have modern American weapons, including night vision devices and rifles, and said, “Even the Pakistan Army does not have these weapons.”

Khwaja Asif also claimed that the separatist group’s so-called leadership is in Afghanistan, bordering Balochistan, and said, “they get support from there.”

Pak Defense Minister admitted in his speech in the National Assembly that security forces are struggling against rebel fighters given the size of Balochistan province and a recent spike in militant violence.

“They had a rifle worth Rs 2 million, we don’t have that rifle. They also had thermal gun sights worth $4,000-5,000. The total military equipment they own is close to $20,000. Where does it come from? Who pays for it?” Asif asked.

He also claimed that the rifles and night vision equipment they used were “American weapons”.

Khwaja Asif also admitted that Baloch insurgents led by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) specifically target and exploit Pakistani Punjabis. He also warned that the Pakistani government would impose harsh measures and use all the power of the state against the BLA.

He denounced the BLA as the military wing of smuggling criminals and said: “They are involved in mischief in the world (fasad-ul-ard) […] and they cannot be interviewed.”

Rebellion in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces have killed nearly 200 separatist rebels in Balochistan since a series of attacks over the weekend, a security official said on Wednesday, taking the total death toll to over 250.

According to security officials, at least 36 civilians and 22 security personnel lost their lives in these clashes.

Clashes between government forces and rebels continued; Sporadic clashes are still reported in some areas after gunmen targeted banks, prisons, police stations and military installations.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan’s most active separatist organisation, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Pakistan has been fighting the Baloch insurgency for decades; There have been repeated armed attacks against Pakistani security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistani people in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.