Pakistan's FIA urges Interpol to arrest Baloch leaders Brahamdagh Bugti and Sher Muhammad

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday asked the Lyon, France-based Interpol to issue Red Corner Notices (RCNs) in the names of what they described as rebel Baloch leaders Brahamdagh Bugti and Sher Muhammad.

In a letter sent to the Secretary General of Interpol today, the Director General of the FIA said both Brahamdagh Bugti and Sher Muhammad of the Balochistan Republic Army (BRA) were "involved in various terrorist attacks in Pakistan's largest province of Balochistan.

The DG, FIA, requested Interpol to first issue Red Corner Notices to both of the Baloch leaders and then take steps to arrest them. In his letter to Interpol, the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) serial numbers of both Bugti and Muhammad have been mentioned.

The CNIC is an identity card issued by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

A Red Corner Notice is an arrest warrant or international alert circulated by Interpol on behalf of the government of a particular country. It is a request from one country to another to arrest and deport the wanted individual or individuals as the case maybe.

Brahamdagh Bugti, the grandson of well known Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, is currently living in self-exile in Switzerland along with Sher Muhammad and Azizullah Bugti.

Founded in 2006-2007 after the elimination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in an alleged encounter with Pakistani troops, the Baloch Republican Army is an armed separatist group in Balochistan, alleged to be the militant wing of the Baloch Republican Party.

The organization has allegedly been involved in a number of militant activities against the Pakistan Army. The Baloch Republican Army carries out armed attacks against the Pakistani Army and mostly operates through guerrilla tactics such as ambush, sabotage and hit and run activities.

The primary targets of the BRA are Pakistan's security forces and their installations, including various headquarters, check-posts and outposts, convoys, offices and personnel; state machinery and infrastructure like railway lines, communication system, gas pipelines, wells and plants, electricity pylons and any other system.

The BRA also is opposed to foreign investment in Balochistan whether by Pakistan or any other country through multinational companies, and even those close to the Pakistan government.

Many of its fighters train in guerrilla camps in the mountains of Balochistan and also have a large number of fighters in the urban areas who carry out these attacks. The BRA is mostly active around Dera Bugti and enjoys large public support there.