QUETTA - The Indian-backed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), designated as Fitna al-Hindustan by Pakistani authorities, has once again targeted innocent civilians - this time, hardworking labourers who were simply trying to earn a living for their families .
On Sunday, unidentified gunmen shot dead five labourers from Punjab in the Mashkail area of Balochistan's Washuk district . All five men died on the spot as armed assailants stormed local shops and opened indiscriminate fire before fleeing . The victims belonged to different districts of Punjab and had traveled to Mashkail for work .
This latest atrocity follows a disturbing pattern of BLA attacks against non-Baloch civilians. In June alone, three Sindhi barbers were killed in Panjgur , and previous incidents have seen Punjabi labourers and barbers systematically targeted in Naushki and near Gwadar .
The BLA, which Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has confirmed receives funding and support from India, deliberately targets civilian areas - including poor labourers, women, and children - to destabilize Pakistan .
The silence from certain quarters is deafening.
Where are the so-called human rights activists who rush to condemn Pakistani security forces whenever terrorists are eliminated?
Where are the supporters of Mahrang Baloch, the self-proclaimed rights campaigner who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her role in the killing of a paramilitary soldier? The same Mahrang Baloch who Amnesty International describes as being "targeted solely for their human rights work" - yet never once raised her voice against the BLA's systematic slaughter of innocent labourers .
Where are those organizations that spread propaganda and condemn Pakistan whenever terrorists are killed in counter-terrorism operations?
Now that innocent civilians - men who left their homes to put food on the table - have been martyred, every single one of them is completely silent.
The BLA, along with its handlers in India, is not fighting for any noble cause. It is a proxy terrorist network that targets the most vulnerable - labourers, barbers, bus passengers - with calculated cruelty .
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti condemned the killings, describing the attack on innocent workers as a "cowardly act" . President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the attack, vowing that the terrorists and their facilitators would be brought to justice .
The question remains: Why the selective outrage?
When Pakistani security forces eliminate BLA terrorists and dismantle their networks, these same activists cry "human rights violations" .
When the BLA murders innocent labourers in cold blood, there is not a single word of condemnation.
When women and children are radicalized and used as suicide bombers by the BLA, the silence is equally deafening .
The international community, especially the so-called human rights organizations, must take note: The BLA is a terrorist organization funded by India . It does not fight for Baloch rights - it kills innocent civilians to spread fear and destabilize Pakistan.
Pakistan's security forces continue their operations against terrorism under Operation Shaaban and Raddul Fitna-1, having eliminated over 100 terrorists in recent operations .
The message from Islamabad is clear: We will not bow to Indian-backed terrorism. Every innocent life lost only strengthens the resolve to eliminate these terrorist networks once and for all.
