Pak strike: BLA claims it still holds hostages

The militant group behind the hijack of a train in Pakistan refuted on Thursday the military's stance that the standoff had ended, claiming that the "battle" was continuing and it still held hostages even as forces maintained that they killed all the rebels involved in the ambush.

- 

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) accused the army of trying to "conceal its defeat through propaganda", a day after the force's spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said the siege ended after they launched a well-planned operation.

"The ground reality is that the battle continues on multiple fronts, and enemy is suffering heavy casualties and military losses... instead of saving the lives of its own soldiers, occupying army remains fixated on war. Now that the state has abandoned its hostages to die it will also bear responsibility for their deaths," it said in a statement.

The outfit claimed on Wednesday that it had around 150 captives, all of whom it said were linked to the Pakistan security establishment. It gave the government 24 hours to "release Baloch political prisoners and national resistance activists" and warned that "more hostages will be tried by the Baloch National Court and executed" after the deadline.

"BLA challenges Pakistan to accept the reality on the ground.

If occupying army truly claims victory, then it should allow independent journalists and impartial sources access to the war-torn areas," it said in Thursday's statement.