Islamabad, Pakistan – Security forces in Pakistani Southwestern Province of Balochistan say they have concluded a military surgery against armed separatists who abducted Peshawar’s Jaffar Express on Tuesday, saving 346 passengers.
Officials said the army killed all 33 attackers from the liberation army in Balokistan (Bla).
Train, carrying nearly 400 passengers, left Quetta, a provincial capital of Balochistan, in the morning when he was intercept the mud fighters Near a series of tunnels, about 160 km (100 miles).
General Ahmed Sharif, General Director of Public Relations Inter Services, the military media wing confirmed that 27 civilians – including train driver – and one paramilitary soldier who was involved in surgery They were also killed.
State Minister of the Interior Tallal Chaudhry said Al Jazeeers that fighters used several hostages as a “human shield.”
In recent years, the Black has significantly expanded the extent and sophistication of its operations – performing more than 150 attacks only last year – which culminated in this recent train abduction.
But what is blah, when it was created, who are his leaders, what are the demands of the group and how did he manage to take a battle with the state for several years?
Why is there a secessionist movement in Balochistan?
Balochistan – the largest but least inhabited Pakistan Province – has a long history of marginalization.
Provincial Pakistan annexed in 1948, six months after the division from India in August 1947, and has since testified to several separatist movements.
The home of about 15 million Pakistan was estimated by 240 million people, according to the 2023 census, Balochistan remains the poorest region in the country, although it is rich in natural resources such as coal, gold, copper and gas. These resources generate considerable income for the Federal Government.
The province is also the home of one of the main Pakistani ports in Gwadar, a key trade corridor for the Economic Corridor of China-Pakistan in the amount of $ 62 billion (CPEC), which aims to connect the southwestern cinema with the Arabian sea through Pakistan.
However, Baloch nationalists claim that the Pakistani state neglected its people as it exploited the resources of the province, launching separatist movements and armed rebellions.
When was the mud created and what led to its formation?
Balochistan witnessed at least five separatist uprisings from Pakistan’s formation in 1947.
The last wave began in the early 2000s, initially focused on the insurance of a larger share of the province’s resources for his people, but soon escalated into calls for complete independence.
With growing outraging towards the state, Black appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Analysts who study Baloch’s resistance movements say he was led by Balach Marri, son of a nationalist veteran leader Baloch Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri.
The rebellion intensified in 2006 after the Government, under the military ruler Pervez Musharraf, killed the prominent nationalist leader Baloch Nawab Akbar Bugti.
Balach Marri was also killed a year later, and the government forbade blah. The father of Balach Marria, Nawab Khair Baks Marri, passed away in December 2014.
Over the years, the blah has been distinguished as a group dedicated to the complete independence of Balochistan from Pakistan.
Unlike moderate balloch nationalist groups that are committed to provincial autonomy, Black never followed the middle.
Malik Siraj Akbar, a researcher specializing in the Baloch separatist movement, says that although the basic request of Blakistan remained unchanged for the independent Balokistan, his leadership, operational geography and strategies have developed over time.
“Today, Blari is acting with a little influence of the Marri tribe. Instead, his leadership switched to the educated Baloch figures, many of which were once part of the non -violent organization of Student Baloch (BSO),” he told Al Jazeera.
Who are the main leaders of the blah?
Bla took the weapon against the Pakistani state because of what he considered “continuous unfortunate disadvantages,” which he claimed, disturbed the true political and socioeconomic progress in the province.
Akbar notes that the Black was initially a very secret organization, but a significant shift happened when the leadership crossed the Marri tribe on the leaders of the middle class Baloch leaders.
“The new leadership has shown a greater tendency to show its power and opportunities in the media. Among them, the most prominent figures include Aslam Baloch, who was later killed in 2018, and, more recently, Bashir Zaib, former BSO student leader, “Akbar added.
Fahad Nabeel, who runs research consultation based in Islamabad, geopolitical insights, says Bashir Zaib Baloch is the current Black leader and was probably behind Jaffar Express.
Bashir Zaib, in the mid-40s, belongs to the Nushki district in Balochistan, located 150 KM (93 miles) south of Quette. He received his diploma from the Faculty of Polytechnic in Quetti.
“After the death of Aslam Baloch at a bombing in Kandahar in Afghanistan, the group leadership passed to Bashira Zaib Baloch,” Nabeel told Al Jazeera.
In 2010, the group launched its suicide – the Majeeda Brigade, which remained dormant for several years and then came into account in 2018 when Aslam Baloch sent their own son to target Chinese engineers working in the city of Balochistan Dalbandin. The attack was injured by five people, including three Chinese nationals, but there were no deaths except for Aslam’s son.
This has encouraged a wider trend of blah that attacks Chinese citizens and installation in recent years.
The group attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November 2018, one month before the death of Aslam Baloch. Four people were killed, including two police officers, while Chinese staff remained safe. Security forces could push the attack within an hour, killing all three attackers.
However, Akbar notes that Blago Brigade Majed truly attracted global attention when one of his suicide suicide bombers, Shari Baloch, target Chinese nationals at Karachi University 2022.
At least four people were killed, including three Chinese nationals, after Shari, a 30-year-old woman, blown minivan in front of the Institute for Confucius of the University, Chinese Language and Cultural Center.
“While Bashir Zaib introduced a female militants, his deputy, Hammal Rehan, oversees the Majeda Brigade operations,” Nabeel said.
Rehan is also in its mid-40s, and it is believed to be well educated, with command in several languages, including English, Urdu and Persian.
According to Nabeel, a former Pakistani military official turned to the outlaw, Rehman Gul Baloch, has significantly improved the group’s capabilities.
The former military man is in his early 40s and is also from Nushki. He graduated from the University of Pesawar, joined the Pakistani army in 2002, but decided to give up and join Blago within eight years.
Rehman Gul Baloch, Nabeel said, helped the group improve his “combat skills, allowing him to move from attacks to major surgery.”
How does blah hire fighters?
Observers say that the greatest power of Bla is his ability to enroll young, good education of soldiers.
“The employment of young people, educated fighters, is no longer a challenge, because the group enjoys significant popularity among Baloch youth, despite the controversial nature of their business,” says Akbar.
He adds that despite the responsibility of the civil death group, including Baloch citizens, and his use of female suicide bombers, such tactics have drawn only limited criticism.
“Instead, his attraction has grown among the young Baloch, many of whom believe that the armed struggle is the only sustainable path for the survival of their people,” he added.
Imtiaz Baloch, a researcher in Khorazan Diary (TKD), a platform that monitors regional security, added that the Black was able to gain compassion among people partly because of the “incapacity” of the state.
“High state policies, poor management, lack of responsibility and cases of forced disappearance have become catalysts for militants who employ and affect multiple sympathizers, including people with highly educated origin such as professional IT experts, data analysts and other professionals, extending their range and influence on social media.
How does blah fund its business?
Although the Blane Financing Sources remain unclear, analysts suggest multiple revenue flows, including illegal activities such as extortion, smuggling and drug trafficking.
The Pakistani government claims that India is funded by Bla, but Akbar, who says that most of the leadership is Blane Pakistan after spending years in Afghanistan, says that these claims are difficult to accept in nominal value.
“Given Pakistan’s tendency to blame India for almost every question, it is difficult to accept such claims without solid evidence,” he said. “If the Government provides concrete proof of Indian support, only then will his accusations have a weight. What is, however, it is clear that the Black has a well -funded supporter, and his fighters get highly professional training specially adapted to the rebellion.”
IMTIAZ BALOCH from the Khorazan Diary based in Islamabad, however, he said that revenues of mass coal mines in the Balochistan Province are the main economic source of the group.
“Recent Separatist Baloch Separastist Operations were very effective because many US weapons used. After their withdrawal from Afghanistan 2021, it was easy to get [these] He shares from the porous border with Afghanistan, “he added.
Nabeel, on the other hand, said that he believed that most leadership of Blago was active from Iran and Afghanistan. He stated that the group generates funds from multiple illegal activities ranging from drug trade to the abduction of people due to the ransom.
“Certain individuals from the Baloch diaspora also provide financial support,” he said. “Their training takes place in Iran, Afghanistan and certain parts of Balochistan, while weapons are procured from black markets operating in Iran and Afghanistan, along with the rest of the US weapon.”
How does Bla build its narrative?
Akbar said that the failure of the management and “dissatisfaction” to the provincial government helps blah -to increase its influence among the disappointed public.
“Many see him [the provincial government] As more loyal to Islamabad than the people of Balochistan, especially because he refuses to take a stand on critical issues such as forced disappearance, “he said.
Muhammad Shoaib, an academic and security analyst at Quaid-A-Azam University in Islamabad, said the group managed to expand its message using social media.
“Black has learned the art of staying in the news and holding a state apparatus engaged on a multiple front. The amount of attacks and the front tells us that Bla -employment is increasing and can now devote more resources and staff for surgery, “he told Al Jazeera.
Nabeel said that the Bla had bounced his “propaganda efforts” in recent years and noted that the media street of the group “Provides timely updates on militant activities and publishes literature and combat videos to attract potential recruits. “
