An armed group known as the Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) revealed on Tuesday that its top commander Gulzar Imam alias Shambay is in the custody of Pakistan’s secret services.
According to a press release by the “pro-independence” armed group, BNA that its top leader Gulzar Imam went missing and is now in the custody of Pakistani intelligence agencies. As per Mureed Baloch, the spokesperson for BNA that their top commander “went missing some time ago”.
Mureed Baloch didn’t reveal further information that how and where the insurgent commander went missing. Mureed only said that “he had gone missing some time ago, the organization investigated the issue and found out through credible evidence that Gulzar Imam alias Shambay is under the custody of Pakistani secretive agencies.” He further added, “the organization is conducting its investigations and it will reach the culprits involved”.
As per some sources, Imam had been arrested as far back as May, while others say that he was detained in September. While some internal sources without sharing the date and time said that Imam was arrested in Turkey after he arrived there from Iran, where Turkey helped its close ally Pakistan in trapping and capturing him. But the purpose of his travel to Turkey remains unknown.
Pakistani authorities have not yet made any statement regarding Imam’s arrest.
Imam founded the BNA earlier this year by merging his faction of the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) with the United Baloch Army (UBA) in order to expand the independence movement of Balochistan by uniting the Baloch armed groups against the Pakistan army.