The separatist terrorist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed that they took hostage and threatened to kill hundreds of people, including paramilitary troops in South -Western Pakistan, on Tuesday.
The BLA is the strongest among many long-run groups operating in Afghanistan and Iran’s border region, a mineral-rich region, the home of Beijing’s investment in the Gwadar Deep Water Port and other projects.
Earlier there was a low-level rebellion, terrorists have carried forward their activities by using a new strategy to incite high death and injury tolls in recent months and target Pakistan’s army.
There are facts about the group here, which have also targeted Chinese interests.
What are the goals of Bla?
The BLA wants independence for Balochistan, a province in the south -west of Pakistan and is located on the border of Afghanistan in North and Iran.
This is the largest of many ethnic rebel groups, who have been struggling with the federal government for decades, saying that it incorrectly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
Rebels are fighting to claim local resources they say they belong to their people.
The mountain border region of Balochistan serves as a safe shelter and training ground for Baloch rebels and Islamist terrorists.
How has it become more deadly?
The BLA surprised the country’s security establishment in 2022 when spreading to the army and naval bases.
It has deployed women suicidal attackers at a university in Karachi, including an attack on Chinese citizens and a bombing in South -West Balochistan.
A umbrella group of several Baloch ethnic groups stated last week that it had called all the groups into a dialect to unite them under an integrated military structure.
In recent weeks, a passive Bla splinter group called Bla (Azad) became active.
What are the BLA goals?
The BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but other areas also have trucks – especially the southern port city Karachi.
Rebels target Pakistan’s army and Chinese interests, especially on the Arabian Sea of Gwadar’s strategic port, of helping Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province.
Terrorists have killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked the consulate of Beijing in Karachi.
The BLA, separately, was also at the center of the tight-for-tat strike between Iran and Pakistan, which they had called terrorist bases in each other’s territory, bringing neighbors closer to the war.
Importance of Balochistan
Balochistan China Pakistan is an important part of China’s $ 65 billion investment in the Economic Corridor, a wing of President Xi Jinping’s belt and road initiative.
It is the home of major mining projects, including RECO Dyak, is run by mining giant Barrical Gold (ABX.TO), and is believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.
China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.
The decades -old extremism has kept the province of about 15 million people unstable and has created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to reach unused resources.
It is the largest province in Pakistan from the region, but the smallest from the population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea beach, which is not far from the Strait of Hormuz Oil Shipping Lane of the Gulf.
Hundreds of Baloch activists, many of them, have opposed the alleged abuses by security forces in Islamabad and Balochistan – the government denied.
Islamabad accused India and Afghanistan of supporting militants to harm Pakistan’s relations with China, refusing the two countries.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
