The Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), a coalition of Baloch separatists on Tuesday claimed responsibility for downing a Pakistan Army chopper.
The BRAS, in a statement delivered to Reuters, claimed its fighters had targeted the copter with an anti-aircraft weapon. A senior military functionary termed the claim pure bunkum. He said the helicopter had crashed due to inclement weather.
The wreckage of the helicopter was found near Musa Goth in the Lasbela district earlier on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The military’s media wing had said that all the six officers on board including Commander XII Corps Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali embraced shahadat (martyrdom), adding that the accident had occurred due to bad weather.
“The wreckage of unfortunate hel[icopter] which was on flood relief op[erations] found in Musa Goth, Windar, Lasbela. All six officers and soldiers including Lt Gen Sarfaraz Ali embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” the ISPR had said in a tweet. Those martyred include Lt Gen Sarfaraz Ali, Brigadier Amjad Hanif, Brigadier Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed, Major M Talha Manan and Naik Mudassar Fayyaz.
