QUETTA: The body of Lieutenant Colonel Laeeq Mirza Baig was found on Thursday in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, the chief minister and three officials in the provincial administration confirmed, with the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of the serving army officer.
This undated file photo circulating on social media shows Lt. Col. Laeeq Mirza Baig. (Photo courtesy: social media)
In a statement released on Wednesday, the BLA said it had picked up Baig on Tuesday. In a separate statement on Thursday, the group claimed it had killed the officer.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo, Balochistan government spokesperson Farrah Azeem Shah, paramilitary Levies in-charge for Ziarat district, Ikramullah, Deputy Commissioner Ziarat Habib Nasir and the military's media wing confirmed Baig’s kidnapping and murder.
ISPR, the military’s media wing, said Baig had been abducted by a group of 10-12 militants who shot him on the night of July 13/14 after being encircled by troops carrying out a search operation. Two militants were killed in the exchange of fire.
"The terrorists have been attempting to impose their vicious agenda against the people of Balochistan but our armed forces are taking strict action against terrorists spoiling peace in the province." Shah told Arab News, confirming that Baig's body had been found.
She added that a search operation was ongoing for the recovery of a second man who had been abducted with Baig. The military has identified the second man as Baig’s cousin.
The BLA's stated aim is complete independence for Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province by territory but the smallest in terms of population given its arid mountainous terrain. The province has seen a decades-long insurgency against what militants call the unfair exploitation of resources in the mineral-rich region. The Pakistani state denies the charge and says it is working for the development of the province. Last year, then planning minister Asad Umar said the federal government had initiated 199 projects worth Rs601 billion as part of a Balochistan development package.
Pakistani security forces have been the main focus of recent attacks, but militants have also targeted Chinese interests, given Beijing's increasing economic footprint in the region.
The BLA demands that all Pakistani security forces withdraw from Balochistan.
"Baloch Liberation Army reiterates once again that occupying forces and their auxiliary units in Balochistan will be continuously targeted until they fully withdraw," the BLA said in a statement on Thursday.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo expressed grief over the murder.
“Unfortunately, a brave army soldier has been killed who was kidnapped by terrorists in Ziarat,” the CM told reporters in Quetta, adding that “terrorists were attempting to disturb Balochistan’s peace.”
“This is not an armed struggle for Balochistan’s rights, if they want to get rights for people, they should come to the [Balochistan] Assembly and start the struggle for Balochistan’s rights under the parliamentary system.”
Ikramullah, the head of the paramilitary Levies in the Ziarat district of Balochistan province, said Baig and another person had been abducted on the evening of July 12 while they were on their way to Ziarat with their families.
Ziarat is a famous tourist spot in Balochistan, with the main city located some 130 kilometers from the provincial capital, Quetta, and home to the famous Quaid-e-Azam Residency where the founder of Pakistan spent the last two months before his death.
Hundreds of tourists from across the country travel to Ziarat in the summer each year to visit the Residency and enjoy the pleasant weather of a valley famous for its large juniper forests.
In comments released to the media, Deputy Commissioner Ziarat Habib Nasir said Baig’s car was intercepted by armed men near the Warchoom area some 101km from Quetta. The kidnappers took away the serving army officer and another man but did not harm family members.
Nasir confirmed Baig’s body has been found in the Mangi Dam area situated between the Ziarat and Harnai districts and said a search operation was ongoing to recover the second abductee.
Giving details of the kidnapping on Tuesday, Ikramullah from Levies said armed men first forced people to close down their shops in Warchoom Bazar and then began checking the national identity cards of tourists traveling to Ziarat.
“They took away Laeeq and another man after checking his identity cards to the near mountains but left their family who were heading toward Ziarat on July 12 around 8pm,” he told Arab News.
The BLA has accelerated its attacks, particularly in the last year, including a simultaneous storming of two paramilitary bases in Balochistan and an attack outside Karachi University's Confucius Institute, a Chinese language and cultural center, in which three Chinese teachers and a Pakistani driver were killed in April.
The BLA has also claimed attacks in Karachi on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Building in 2020 and the Chinese consulate in 2018.
Among China's major projects in Balochistan is the port of Gwadar, strategically located near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route in the Arabian Sea. Chinese engineers working at the port came under attack from an operation claimed by the BLA last year.
A Chinese company also operates a major gold and copper mine in Balochistan.
The security of its nationals in Pakistan has become a major issue for Beijing, especially since it launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which envisages development projects worth more than $60 billion.
Last month, reports in international media suggested that following the recent attacks, China had asked Pakistan to allow it to use its own security company to protect its nationals and assets in Pakistan. The interior ministry did not respond to Arab News' requests for comment.
