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Insurgency in Balochistan

Insurgency in Balochistan

Physical map of Balochistan, Pakistan and map of Iran with Sistan and Baluchestan province highlighted
(detailed map of Pakistan conflicts)
(detailed map of Iran conflicts)
DateJuly 1948 – present[1]
(77 years)
Main phases:
Location
Balochistan, Iran–Pakistan border:
Status

Ongoing[2][3][4]

Belligerents
 Pakistan
 Iran

Baloch separatist groups

Sectarian groups
Commanders and leaders
Asif Ali Zardari
(President of Pakistan; 2024–present)
Shehbaz Sharif
(Prime Minister of Pakistan; 2024–present)
Ali Khamenei
(Supreme Leader of Iran; 1989–present)
Masoud Pezeshkian
(President of Iran; 2024–present)		 Bashir Zaib[5]
Hyrbyair Marri[6]
Allah Nazar Baloch
Brahumdagh Bugti[7]
Mehran Marri[8]
Javed Mengal[6]
Former:
Karim Khan (POW)
Nauroz Khan (POW)
Balach Marri  †
Aslam Baloch †[9]
Abdul Nabi Bangulzai †[10]
Haji Wali Kalati Surrendered[11]
Gulzar Imam Surrendered[12]
Sarfraz Bangulzai Surrendered[13][14]
Mir Daad Shah †
Abdolmalek Rigi  Executed
Abdolhamid Rigi  Executed
Muhammad Dhahir Baluch[15]
Salahuddin Farooqui †[16]
Amir Naroui †[16]
Hashem Nokri †
Units involved
Pakistani units:
Forces involved:
Iranian units:
Forces involved:
 Baloch separatist factions
Sectarian factions
Strength

 Pakistan: 145,000[28][29]
Unknown numbers of F-16s, JF-17s, J-10Cs, APC Talhas, Mohafiz ISVs/IMVs, Bell AH-1 Cobras, Mil Mi-24s, MaxxPro MRAPs, Hamza MRAPs, and Technicals.

 Iran: Unknown
Unknown numbers of Toufan attack helicopters, Toofan MRAPs, F-14 Tomcats, Shahed 285 attack helicopters, Panha 2091 attack helicopters, MiG-29s, Shahed 216 attack helicopters, and Technicals		 BLA: 600 (2020)[5]
3,000 (2025)[30]
Jaish al-Adl: 500-600[31]
Jundallah: 500-2,000 (until 2011)[23]
Casualties and losses
Pakistan Pakistan
  • 1973–1977: 3,300 killed[32]
  • 2000–2019: 2,052 killed[33]
Iran Iran
  • 2000–2010: 164 killed (security forces and civilians)[34]
  • 1973–1977: 5,300 killed[32]
  • 2000–2019: 1,929 killed[33]
  • Surrendered: 3,093 (2015–2019)[35]
  • SATP – surrendered: 5,869 (2004–2019)[33]
  • c. 6,000+ civilians (1973–1977),[32] 4,608 civilians (2000–2019)[36][33] and 497 non-specified killed in Pakistan (2000–2019)[33]
  • c. 140,000 displaced (2004–2005)[36]
  • China 3 Chinese civilians killed
  • 4 kidnapped
  • 5 oil tankers damaged[37]

The insurgency in Balochistan (Balochi: بلۏچستانءِ آشۏب) is an ongoing insurgency by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Iran in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan and Pakistan in the province of Balochistan.[38][4][39] Rich in natural resources, Balochistan is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan.[40] Armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy.[41] Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province.[42]

In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—rose, contributing to tensions in Balochistan.[43][44][45][46] In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.[47] In Pakistan's Balochistan province, insurgencies by Baloch nationalists have been fought in 1948–50, 1958–60, 1962–63 and 1973–1977, with an ongoing low-level insurgency beginning in 2003.[48] In recent times, separatists have also accused their own groups of being involved in widespread crime—including robbery and rape against Baloch women—with some claiming that what started as an idealistic political fight for their people's rights has turned into gangs extorting, kidnapping and even raping locals.[49] Baloch militants have taken some reconciliation offers from the government and offered to hand in their weapons.

Baloch separatists argue they are economically marginalised and poor compared to the rest of Pakistan.[50][41] The Balochistan Liberation Army, designated as a terrorist organisation by Pakistan, the United Kingdom[51] and the United States,[52] is the most widely known Baloch separatist group. Since 2000 it has conducted numerous deadly attacks on Pakistani military troops, police, journalists, civilians and education institutions. Other separatist groups include Lashkar-e-Balochistan and the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF).[53][54][55][56]

Human rights activists have accused nationalist militants, government of Iran and Pakistan of human rights abuses in its suppression of the insurgency.[57]

  1. ^ Samad, Yunas (March 2014). "Understanding the insurgency in Balochistan". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Over 300 anti-state militants surrender arms in Balochistan". Dawn News. 9 December 2017. The largest province of the country by area, Balochistan is home to a low-level insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists.
  3. ^ "Is Balochistan insurgency dying?". Foreign Policy News. 14 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b "US declares Pakistan's separatist Baluchistan Liberation Army as terrorist group". Indian Express. 3 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b "The Balochistan Liberation Army and insurgency in Pakistan's Balochistan Province". Intelligence Fusion. Retrieved 10 January 2024. The numerical strength of the BLA is not clear, with estimates claiming that in the early 2000s after the group formed, there were approximately 6,000 fighters in the BLA. More recent estimates have suggested the total number of fighters is closer to 600.
  6. ^ a b "Authorities determined to ensure peaceful polls in Balochistan". Zee News. 5 May 2013.
  7. ^ Shah, Murtaza Ali (17 November 2017). "Swiss banned Mehran Baluch over 'risks' to security". The News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  8. ^ Shah 2017: "The Swiss chargesheet, according to papers seen by this reporter, said Marri was 'a Pakistani national of Great Britain' associated with militant groups. It claimed that the UBA 'collaborated with the terrorist movement Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) under Brahmadagh Bugti'."
  9. ^ Shah, Taimoor; Mashal, Mujib; Ur-Rehman, Zia (27 December 2018). "Suicide Bombing Kills Pakistani Insurgent Wanted for Attack on Chinese". New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2018. Afghan officials confirmed that General Raziq had housed Baluch separatist leaders in Kandahar for years.
  10. ^ "BLA top commander Chota Mir killed by unidentified persons in Afghanistan". 24 News HD. 28 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Militant leader surrenders in Quetta". Dawn News. 5 June 2015. Kalati claimed that he had been fighting for independence of Balochistan since 1970 and spent 45 years on mountains. 'Now I have realised that this fight has been launched by tribal chiefs to protect their own interests,' he said, adding that internal fighting among leaders of banned organisations had helped him to come to that conclusion.
  12. ^ "BNA chief says farewell to arms". Express Tribune. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  13. ^ Separatist leader in Pakistan appears before cameras and says he has surrendered with 70 followers. 20 December 2023. Washington Post.
  14. ^ Key BNA commander Sarfraz Bangulzai surrenders along with 70 associates. 20 December 2023. Express Tribune.
  15. ^ "Sunni insurgent leader hanged at Evin prison". France 24. 20 June 2010.
  16. ^ a b "Militia leader blacklisted by Iran killed in clashes with Taliban". Anadolu Agency. 10 August 2021.
  17. ^ "FC placed under Balochistan govt's control". Dawn News. 2 November 2011. "Since January 2008, military has conducted no operation in Balochistan," said Gen Abbas, dispelling a perception that the army was still in the field there.
  18. ^ "No military operation in Balochistan". Nation. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  19. ^ "No army operation in Balochistan: Kayani". Dawn News. 7 September 2013. 'Not a single soldier of Pakistan Army is involved in any operation in Balochistan,' Gen Kayani said.
  20. ^ "Pak Navy suffers casualties in targeted attack". DaijiWorld. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  21. ^ "FC accelerates intelligence-based operations in Balochistan". Dawn News. 27 August 2017.
  22. ^ "Iran Sunni Baloch Insurgents: "Union with Hizbul-Furqan Strengthens Our Front Against Safavids"". 21 December 2013.
  23. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference irp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Ayaz, Ahmed. "Islamic State Comes to Balochistan". THE DIPLOMAT. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  25. ^ a b Gul, Ayaz (15 May 2019). "Islamic State Announces 'Pakistan Province'". Voice of America. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  26. ^ "دولت اسلامیہ: نام نہاد 'پاکستان صوبے' کے نام سے پہلی ویڈیو جاری". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). 23 March 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  27. ^ a b B Raman (25 January 2003). "Iraq's shadow on Balochistan". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2003.
  28. ^ Aguilar, Francisco; Bell, Randy; Black, Natalie; Falk, Sayce; Rogers, Sasha; Peritz, Aki (July 2011). "An Introduction to Pakistan's Military" (PDF). Harvard Kennedy School: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  29. ^ White, Matthew (July 2005). "Twentieth Century Atlas - Death Tolls". users.erols.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  30. ^ Munir, Ahmed (12 March 2025). "What's behind the surge in attacks and train hijacking in Pakistan's restive southwest?". AP News. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  31. ^ "Jaish al-Adl: Terror outfit behind Kulbhushan Jadhav kidnapping now targeted by Iran". India Today. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  32. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference p was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ a b c d e "Balochistan Assessment". Satp.org. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  34. ^ "Jundallah: Iran's Sunni rebels". Al Jazeera. 20 June 2010.
  35. ^ 556 (2015) [1] [2] [3], 800 (2016) [4], 1,222 (2017) [5] [6] [7] [8], 465 (2018) [9] [10], 50 (2019) [11]
  36. ^ a b Ray Fulcher (30 November 2006). "Balochistan: Pakistan's internal war". Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières.
  37. ^ Kiyya Baloch (27 March 2015). "Chinese Operations in Balochistan Again Targeted by Militants". The Diplomat.
  38. ^ Multiple Sources:
    • Siddique, Abubakar (9 February 2022). "Escalating Violence In A Restive Pakistani Province Resurrects A Forgotten Conflict". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Since the beginning of this year, violent attacks by secular ethnic Baluch separatists in Pakistan's restive southwestern province of Balochistan have dramatically risen.
    • "Baloch insurgency and continued tale of apathy and violence". 8 February 2022. The province of Balochistan is once again in the vortex of turmoil and violence.
    • ""insurgency" (noun)". Merriam-Webster Unabridged. Retrieved 27 November 2019. The quality or state of being insurgent; specifically: a condition of revolt against a recognized government that does not reach the proportions of an organized revolutionary government and is not recognized as belligerency (subscription required)
    • "insurgency, n". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 27 November 2019. The quality or state of being insurgent; the tendency to rise in revolt; insurgence n. The action of rising against authority; a rising, revolt." (subscription required)
    • "Insurgency". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 November 2019. Insurgency, term historically restricted to rebellious acts that did not reach the proportions of an organized revolution. It has subsequently been applied to any such armed uprising, typically guerrilla in character, against the recognized government of a state or country. (subscription required)
  39. ^ Multiple Sources:
  40. ^ "Pakistan has conducted strikes inside Iran". Reuters.
  41. ^ a b Qasim Nauman (17 August 2016). "What Is Pakistan's Balochistan Insurgency and Why Is India's Modi Talking About It?". The Wall Street Journal.
  42. ^ "Baloch separatists attack traders". BBC News. 27 July 2009.
  43. ^ Kine, Phelim (5 July 2014). "Pakistan's Shia Under Attack". The Diplomat.
  44. ^ ""We are the Walking Dead" – Killings of Shia Hazara in Balochistan, Pakistan". Human Rights Watch. 29 June 2014.
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference padl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ "Mapping Militant Organisation: Baloch Liberation Front". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  47. ^ Kakar, Rafiullah (21 April 2022). "Resolve Balochistan's problems". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  48. ^ Hussain, Zahid (25 April 2013). "The battle for Balochistan". Dawn.
  49. ^ Cite error: The named reference nbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  50. ^ Kemp, Geoffrey (2010). The East Moves West: India, China, and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East (1st ed.). Brookings Institution. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-8157-0388-4.
  51. ^ "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations". Home Office (Government of the United Kingdom). 26 November 2021.
  52. ^ "Terrorist Designations of Balochistan Liberation Army and Husain Ali Hazzima and Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Jundallah". U.S. Department of State. 2 July 2019.
  53. ^ "We only receive back the bodies". The Economist. 7 April 2012.
  54. ^ "Waking up to the war in Balochistan". BBC News. 29 February 2012. The civil war has left thousands dead – including non-Baloch settlers and has gone on for the past nine years, but it hardly made the news in Pakistan, let alone abroad.
  55. ^ "'Their Future is at Stake': Attacks on Teachers and Schools in Pakistan's Balochistan Province" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. December 2010.
  56. ^ "In Balochistan, Violence Continues to Target Journalists". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. separatist organizations such as the Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army have claimed responsibility for some of the 27 journalists killed in targeted assassinations since 2007
  57. ^ "Pakistan: Events of 2015". World Report 2016: Pakistan. Human Rights Watch. 27 January 2016.
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