On 29 June, social media exploded with images of the members of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claiming the attack on Karachi Stock Exchange (PSX). The men in the images were identified as Tasleem Baloch alias Muslim, Shehzad Baloch alias Cobra, Salman Hammal alias Notak, Siraj Kungur alias Yaagi, of the BLA’s so-called Majeed Brigade. The Brigade is believed to have been named after BLA commander Abdul Majeed Baloch.
Similarities with Attack on Chinese Consulate
The four men were shot dead by security forces. A policeman and two security guards were also reported to have died. The BLA members threw a grenade while attempting to infiltrate the complex and were killed in the process at the gates of the complex. This was similar in pattern to the BLA-claimed attack in Karachi in 2018 on the Chinese consulate, where the attackers were also killed at the gates.
The commonalities stem from the fact that both attacks were undertaken by the BLA, both were suicide attacks in nature and both gained large media coverage but could not be said to be militarily very effective. Secondly, the casualties were low on the Pakistani law enforcement side with few civilians were killed. Thirdly, it can be anticipated that the Baloch insurgents were prepared for a longer haul with a hostage situation in mind, indicated by the back packs with food and ammunition which were recovered. Lastly, both represented similar endeavours to strike outside their traditional areas in or near Balochistan, especially the attempts to penetrate the high security areas in Karachi, which clearly highlighted the similarities between the embassy and stock exchange attacks. However, the most important facet behind both the attacks was the attempt to target the Chinese.
Both attacks also generated media publicity of the Baloch struggle. They raised the question of limited information or surveillance capability of the insurgent group in Karachi since both the attacks showed lack of proper reconnaissance , detailed planning and insider assistance normally so useful for such attacks.
Ruthless Suppression
Amidst the pandemic of Covid-19, speculations erupted as to whether the Pakistani military had been employing death squads to crush the Baloch freedom movement. Since the killing of Akbar Bugti in 2004, the province of Balochistan has experienced ruthless repression from the Pakistani military forces. Reports of the missing Baloch people, activists and freedom fighters have been surfacing in the media regularly but to no avail. With the fear of the marginalization in their own province, continued subjugation and Pakistan`s “Kill and Dump policy” of the Baloch in play, the Baloch insurgency has come as a natural reaction to this genocide. Over the years, the Baloch insurgency has evolved and has expanded systematically.
Recently, the acceleration up of the Chinese projects and investments in the province and the extra judicial killings of the Baloch at the hands of the Pakistani military, has only become a catalyst to intensify the Baloch movement. One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorists. The Baloch have so far been operating largely as Insurgents and freedom fighters targeting the Pakistani army and economic infrastructure. The two attacks in Karachi seem to show a shift to the cities to gain media traction because the Pakistanis have been systematically blocking all information of Baloch attacks in the countryside.
While the Baloch are fighting for an independent Baluchistan, the Pakistani government has declared many Baloch insurgent groups as terror outfits. As per the South Asia Terror Portal (SATP), maximum number of terrorist outfits proscribed by the Pakistani government are the Baloch insurgents such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Republic army (BRA) and Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) to name a few.
Coalition of Freedom Fighters
In recent months, the Baloch movement has seen a transformation of sorts. The insurgency is no longer limited to rural bases but has reached urban areas as well. There is a certain level of sophistication and technical improvement in the tactical operations of the Baloch insurgents. The recent attacks by the Baloch outfits on the Pakistani security forces also suggest a larger and more effective human intelligence network employed by the Baloch insurgents in the countryside. The same is not true of Karachi.
The motivation to attack the PSX could be the fact that the PSX sold 40 per cent strategic shares to a Chinese consortium comprising three Chinese exchanges – China Financial Futures Exchange Company Limited (lead bidder), Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The entire transaction was worth $85 million as reported by the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
In the past year, BLA has boldly circulated videos on social media, warning Chinese President Xi Jinping to “get out of Balochistan”. These videos surfaced when an attack was claimed by the “Majeed Brigade” on a five-star hotel in Gwadar, which accommodates Chinese delegations.
Apart from the recent Karachi Stock Exchange attack, large number of Baloch insurgent attacks have been reported in the areas in the border region near Iran and in areas closest to the province’s capital, Quetta in recent months.
The rise in the reported fatalities of the Pakistani military personnel and security forces in Islamabad, has certainly sparked concern in Pakistan. The fear of a coalition between the Baloch and other insurgent groups to destabilize Pakistan has been resonating in Islamabad.
A total of 26 Baloch-led attacks have been verified in Pakistan in 2020. Some of the prominent attacks were – attack on Frontier Corps vehicles through a remote-controlled improvised explosive devices (IED) in Kech district’s Buleda area, about 14 km from the Iran border which killed a major and five soldiers. attack on a military convoy by a roadside IED near Quetta, on 9 May, which killed six Pakistani soldiers; attack on two military outposts in Pakistan’s restive frontier coastal province on 6 June, which killed at least seven Pakistani military personnel.
Although some of these attacks were denied by the BLA. there is a possibility that these were revenge attacks by the BLA against atrocities carried out by the so-called death squads of criminals led by ISI against the people of Balochistan.
Earlier, in February, guerillas of the Balochistan Liberation Tigers (BLT) targeted the Pakistani Army post in the Singsila area, killing 16 Pakistani army personnel. BLT is the third constituent of the Baloch Raaji Aajoi-A-Sangar (BRAS) rebel coalition. The possibility of joint operations was further confirmed when BRAS, an umbrella group of Baloch insurgent groups operating in the province confirmed various attacks conducted by the BLA and BLF.
Since the two attacks in May, there has been speculation that the BLA and BLF were again conducting joint operations as they had in the past, despite some differences between the two. Due to the discord between the Baloch insurgent groups, the latter had become weak and suffered at the hands of Pakistani security forces. The Centre of Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR) has observed that the new trends indicated a complete shift.
With a change in the mindset of the Baloch insurgent groups, it is evident that the modus operandi of the Baloch insurgents has resulted in a more unified approach in the conduct of operations.
Apart from the Pakistani military personnel being targeted, the Chinese have been frequently targeted by the BRAS. The possibility of marginalization of the Baloch with the increase in the Chinese population in the area has certainly invited an aggressive approach from the Baloch freedom fighters. The concern for the safety of the Sino-Pak joint projects has resulted in a more upgraded and iron-fisted approach from Pakistan.
As a retaliation to the BLA and BLF, an operation by the Pakistani military called the Ground Zero Clearance Operation was carried out. Its aim was to neutralize the Baloch insurgent bases and support networks around the Pak-Iranian border.
Pakistan believes that the lack of control and inability of the Iranian forces to monitor the Baloch insurgent bases had led to a thriving network across the border. It is expected that Pakistani security forces may tighten the fencing and monitoring of the region around the Iranian border.
It is also evident that the allocation of additional resources to strengthen the military operations against the insurgents strongly indicates the failure of the Pakistani military to curb insurgency.
Human Rights Violations
Pakistan Army has been accused of various human rights violations in its crackdown in Balochistan.
Pakistan`s regular counter-terrorist operations in the province as part of Operation ‘Radd-ul-Fasad’ (launched on 22 February 2017) has not limited itself from killing its own people in the façade of eliminating the terrorists.
It is revealed in online sources, that Pakistan Army plans a forced migration of local Balochi tribes in the general areas of Rustam Khan Shehr. The chances of seeing the insurgency dissipating is nothing short of wishful thinking.
Pakistani media newsrooms, have been known to handle the topic of Balochitan with kid`s gloves.”Most of Balochistan’s problems are rooted in the military conflict and how its governed. That’s why there’s no room for independent reporting as it inevitably leads to talking about the root-causes of insurgency, grievances of the nationalists, and the establishment’s questionable actions in the province. Therefore, media networks try to stay clear of Balochistan. And if they do report, it’s usually based on the information approved by the ISPR.” As mentioned by Shahzeb Jillani, former senior executive editor and correspondent, Dunya News.
The strong control of ISI on the perception management of Balochistan, has led to a “structural exclusion of Balochistan’s existence, its struggles and its aspirations”.
Comments
Pakistan has failed to differentiate between the narrative of subnationalists and the insurgents, which it has collectively proscribed as terror outfits. It has failed to appease the people of the Baloch province and strongly alienated them by introducing its death squads to carry out extrajudicial killings and the abduction of Baloch civilians. While the Pakistani security forces have resorted to a more aggressive approach to eradicate the insurgent groups, a certain change in the trend is evident in the attacks claimed by the Baloch insurgents. With the formation of the BRAS, just like the Jihadi Council operating against India, the Baloch insurgency has not only expanded in terms of its outreach and intel, but has been effective in their attacks against its oppressors. The frequency of the Baloch insurgency has seen a new spike compared to the past with 26 attacks within three months of 2020.
Islamabad has always struggled to maintain relationships with Baloch nationalists who believe that their own land has been plundered of its natural resources by Pakistan and the China, without any gain for the Baloch.
The situation in Balochistan has exacerbated since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a leading project of China’s One Belt and One Road initiative in the province which begins at Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan ends at Gwadar.
While the port city of Gwadar lies in Balochistan, its post is being operated by the Chinese. It would have been easily predicted that Gwadar would be an easy target for the insurgents who feel the pangs of being exploited in their own region. The separatist groups have already been targeting the Chinese engineers working in the area and have also attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018.
The failure of the Pakistani government in addressing the political and economic grievances of the Baloch along with the Pakistani military`s adamant decision to seize control through force has triggered strong elements of subnationalism and Baloch freedom movement.
