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A primary Baloch grievance is the construction of the mega port of Gwadar, which began in 2002 and is ongoing. India has pushed back Pakistan’s allegations that Baloch militants have India’s backing
Pakistan must seek a political solution to address the Baloch discontent, instead of cracking down on the locals with its militarist approach. (Photo: Reuters)
The recent high-profile bombing of railway tracks and hijacking of a passenger train by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) shows the newfound scale and ambition of the Baloch insurgency.
Pakistan claimed that total 31 people were killed, and that its military operation took out 33 Baloch insurgents. The BLA, however, called the claims “a lie” and said they had executed 214 hostages who were mostly military and police personnel onboard the train, per Guardian.
Another deadly BLA attack took place in Noshki on March 16 in which suicide bombers attacked a convoy of paramilitary forces.
All in all, the BLA claimed responsibility for 302 attacks in 2024 alone, including a bombing at Quetta’s main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.
So, what is the Pakistan government doing to contain the insurgency, which has become lethal over the last few months, what do we know about Baloch people’s demands and how much is India impacted with the neighbour problem. Let us understand.
Who Are The Baloch?
The Baloch are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group who live on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border, and also in parts of southern Afghanistan. Balochistan forms the largest part of this region, followed by the province of Sistan and Balochistan on the Iranian side.
The area, which is roughly the size of France, is sparsely populated by around 9 million Balochs who are organised into tribes rather than feeling that they belong to a state.
Balochistan is the largest and least populated of Pakistan’s provinces and the most impoverished, with around 70% of its population classed as ‘multidimensionally poor’. The province is rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, silver, and copper.
After Partition, Balochistan remained independent until March 1948 as part of a friendship treaty with the new state of Pakistan. The Khan of Kalat, the main tribal leader whose writ ran over much of the region, was keen to remain independent, but came under tremendous pressure to join Pakistan, including from his feudatories, the rulers of Makran, Las Bela, and Kharan.
For decades, the Baloch have been fighting for their autonomy or independence, which have been met with violent suppression on both sides of the border. In Pakistan, such efforts are viewed as attempts to fragment the nation — while in Iran, the situation is further complicated by the Baloch being a Sunni Muslim minority in a predominantly Shiite country.
In Pakistan, over 10,000 Baloch have disappeared since 2011, according to Amnesty International.
What Do We Know About Balochistan Insurgency?
The Pakistan’s troubled south-western province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been under insurgency since the birth of Balochistan in 1948. Violent separatist uprisings, which were largely tribal-led, took place again in 1958, 1962 and 1973.
But in early 2000s, the violence took a turn. Baloch nationalists, who had long accused the Pakistani government and military of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral resources, oppressing its people and rigging its elections, began to mobilise into organised insurgent armies that called for an independent Baloch state.
Though the operation was marked by sporadic attacks and ambushes for years. But the insurgency gathered a momentum in recent years.
How The Balochistan Liberation Army Was Created?
The BLA, created in the early 2000s, is the largest Baloch militant group and has been fighting an insurgency against the Pakistani government for decades, seeking independence for Balochistan and the expulsion of China.
BLA militants have carried out attacks, particularly targeting Pakistani security forces and Beijing’s CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) project.
The ethnic Baloch, who constitute a majority in Balochistan, are angry with the Pakistani government for what they perceive as unfair exploitation of their region’s resources.
Pakistan banned the BLA in 2006, and the United States designated it as a global terrorist organisation in 2019.
In its statement, the BLA said its “fidayeen” or suicide squad unit Majeed Brigade was leading March 11 hijacking of the Jaffar Express.
The Majeed Brigade has been active since 2011, and has been involved in other attacks, including on a complex near Balochistan’s Gwadar port in March 2024, which resulted in the deaths of several security personnel and militants.
Of late, the BLA has become highly media savvy, sending out coordinated press releases about their attacks and posting videos across X, TikTok, Telegram and Instagram glorifying their violence.
What Fuelled The Balochistan Movement
The military coup in 1999 that brought Pervez Musharraf to power in Pakistan increased alienation among the Balochs. This is because Balochs see the army as lacking Baloch representation due to its domination by the interests of the Punjabi—the main ethnic group in Pakistan that accounts for about 45% of the country’s population.”
A primary Baloch grievance is the construction of the mega port of Gwadar, which began in 2002 and is ongoing. Despite its importance, the Pakistani government has excluded Balochs from the Gwadar development process. The project is run entirely by the federal government and employs few Balochs in construction of the massive port, instead relying on Chinese engineers and labourers.
Another factor that flared up tensions between Baloch and the Pakistani government is the killing of their leader Nawab Akbar Bugti by the army in 2006, according to a report by The International Affairs Review.
The transition from the military government of Musharraf to the civilian government of President Asif Ali Zadari in 2008 did little to assuage Baloch discontent. In 2009, 792 attacks resulting in 386 deaths were recorded; around 92% of the attacks were linked to Baloch nationalist militants. Violence increased in 2010, with 730 attacks carried out resulting in 600 deaths.
Another contemporary conflict driver is the US-led war in Afghanistan. It has further marginalised Balochs in two ways. First, the war has caused an influx of Pashtun refugees from Afghanistan into Balochistan, numerically downsizing the Baloch population within their own province. Second, an influx of extremist militants has brought more federal army and paramilitary troops into the province, which has unnerved Baloch nationalists. Many displaced Taliban troops fleeing from Afghanistan have settled in Balochistan. In fact, Quetta, the provincial capital, has become the de facto capital of al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan.
In January, the BLA was at the centre of allegations by Pakistan over the use of militant bases in Iran to stage attacks against Pakistan. This led to tit-for-tat cross-border missile and air strikes that almost brought Iran and Pakistan to the brink of war.
How BLA Is Gaining Strength
Analysts believe the BLA’s growing strength shows failure on part of the Pakistan government to counter BLA fighters and its reliance on outdated strategies.
Malik Siraj Akbar, a Balochistan specialist based in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera, the BLA has evolved from carrying out small-scale attacks, such as targeting individuals or sabotaging pipelines, to large-scale operations.
The BLA has also strengthened its command structure by giving field militants more direct control over operations, Rafiullah Kakar, a political analyst specialising in Balochistan affairs, told Al Jazeera.
In recent months, Balochistan has witnessed a dramatic surge in violence. Last month, at least 18 soldiers were killed in a BLA attack in Kalat city. Earlier in March, a female suicide bomber detonated herself, also in Kalat, killing a law enforcement officer.
The Jaffar Express has been targeted multiple times. Last year, BLA fighters blew up a section of the track, disrupting the train service for two months.
In November, a suicide bombing at Quetta’s railway station targeted the train just before departure, killing at least 30 people, including security personnel.
Analysts fear that peaceful activists will bear the brunt of such attacks and any retribution from the Pakistani government.
What Is Indian Government Stand?
India has outrightly pushed back allegations made by the Pakistan Foreign Office and military establishment, who claim that India was backing the Baloch militants.
“We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. The whole world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies. Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its own internal problems and failures on others,” the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
India will continue to monitor the situation in Balochistan closely. Recent terrorist attacks in Jammu have prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to caution Pakistan against using terrorism or proxy warfare against India. India contends that Pakistan needs to reflect on why there has been a rise in attacks in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan since the Afghan Taliban’s return to Kabul, as per a report by The Economic Times.
What Are Pakistan’s Options?
In the interest of regional stability, Pakistan must seek a political solution to address the Baloch discontent, instead of cracking down on the local population with its militarist approach.
The Pakistani government must look into Baloch people’s grievances, particularly exploitation of resources, which remains a sensitive issue. Insurgency has been boosted by the perception among the local people that they are being denied benefits of the exploration of Balochistan’s considerable mineral resources.
A Baloch activist told Voice of America that “Gwadar is being called a game-changer for Pakistan and China, so it was important to tell them and the international media that this land belongs to us… the crackdown shows Baloch are not allowed to enter Gwadar.”
Pakistan should also find a way to engage civil rights groups like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee that want to peacefully raise issues like enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
With Baloch people largely considered secular, the Pakistan government should ensure that they don’t work with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is driven by extremist ideology.
