QUETTA, Dec 9: Security forces have arrested 21 suspected members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army during search operations in Kohlu and some areas of Dera Bugti.

Five armed men were arrested on Saturday night and 16 on Sunday. Sources said the security forces had also destroyed a camp of militants in the Kahan area.

“A large quantity of arms and ammunition, including long- and short-range missiles, rocket launchers and other weapons, was seized,” sources said.

The BLA confirmed the operation and accused the security forces of arresting around 400 people from Kahan and the Zan-Koh area of Dera Bugti.

Calling from an unknown place, Bebargh Baloch, a spokesman for the organisation, told journalists that the forces had used helicopters and arrested even women and children.

Official sources denied that 400 people had been arrested.

APP adds: Pakistan on Sunday released 500 Afghan nationals from various jails of Balochistan and handed them over to Afghan border authorities at the Chaman border, said police sources.

Law-enforcement agencies had arrested them from different parts of the province for entering the country without legal documents. They had been sentenced by courts and were handed over to the Afghan authorities after completion of their sentences.