Baloch freedom fighters set ablaze heavy machinery at Kalat construction site

Armed men attacked a construction site in the Mahlebi area of Kalat district, setting fire to heavy machinery used in road development. The attack took place at Marjan, where equipment, including a crushing plant, was destroyed by the men.

The attackers detained company personnel during the raid, torching all heavy machinery on-site. After completing the attack, they released the workers unharmed and fled the area.

Despite the scale of the incident, local officials have yet to release any statement about the attack. Such silence reflects the occupied-state’s inability—or unwillingness—to acknowledge the growing hostility against these projects, which are often carried out for Paki establishment’s interests.

This attack aligns with a broader pattern of Baloch freedom fighters targeting infrastructure projects that are tools of Pak Army exploitation. While Islamabad markets these initiatives as “development projects,” they actually serve military purposes, tightening control over the province. The road networks, in particular, facilitate the Pakistan Army’s movement and operations against local populations, enabling further repression.

These projects are colonial extensions meant to exploit Pak-occupied-Balochistan’s resources while marginalizing its people. Development initiatives in Pak-occupied-Balochistan, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), are benefiting the military and foreign interests at the cost of local livelihoods. Roads built under these projects enable the movement of military convoys, and increasing surveillance.

The Pakistan Army’s ‘development narrative’ has failed to win over local support, as such projects offer no meaningful benefits to the Baloch population. Instead, they further the military’s grip on the region, escalating tensions. With enforced disappearances, kill-and-dump operations, and military crackdowns becoming routine, these attacks are acts of defiance in an occupied land.

No group has formally claimed responsibility for this particular attack yet. However, the Baloch nationalist movement has been consistent in opposing such projects, as these are instruments of subjugation. For them, the destruction of construction sites is a necessary resistance against Islamabad’s colonial ambitions, signaling that freedom, not false development, is the only acceptable future for Balochistan.