The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out several attacks in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday. Pakistan said it had killed dozens of the attackers.
“A series of gun and bomb attacks across Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province killed 18 civilians and 15 security service personnel, the country’s military says,” the BBC reported Sunday.
BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said: “Under the second phase of Operation Herof, Baloch Liberation Army freedom fighters have launched simultaneous, coordinated operations in 10 cities of Balochistan. With the coordinated presence of Baloch freedom fighters in Quetta, Noshki, Mastung, Dalbandin, Kalat, Kharan, Gwadar, Pasni, Tump, and Buleda, the enemy’s military and administrative structures have been targeted, inflicting heavy losses. As a result of operations in various urban areas, the enemy’s movements have been restricted, and the enemy army has been pushed back in several locations.”
The BBC report said Pakistani “security forces responding to the violence killed at least 92 attackers, the military said. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) rebel group had earlier said it was behind the attacks, claiming dozens of soldiers were killed.”
BLA attacks in Pakistan leave 145 dead
This was one of the deadliest days in the recent conflict in the Balochistan region of Pakistan.
“Pakistan accused India of supporting the BLA,” the BBC reported. “Delhi has repeatedly denied such accusations.”
Balochistan is important because it borders a similarly named region in Iran.
The Baloch, like Kurds, have seen their lands divided by these countries. Kurds, for instance, saw colonial powers carve their homeland up into Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey in the 1920s.
The Baloch have felt suppressed in both Pakistan and Iran. The shared fight against these groups has brought Iran and Pakistan closer together.
The BLA said it had struck a number of Pakistan army camps.
“At the same time, the Coastal Highway has also been targeted, disrupting the logistical movements of occupying forces,” it said. “As a result of the pressure on this highway, the enemy’s daily military operations have been disrupted, and its movements at various points have been completely paralyzed.”
Numerous units within the BLA had participated in the complex attacks, it said, adding that on January 31, after 15 hours of fighting, its attack was still ongoing.
Even in the morning of February 1, the BLA said it continued to control some areas. By the afternoon, media reports in Pakistan said as many as 145 of the fighters had been eliminated.
Pakistan has often accused India of backing the Baloch. India had rejected Pakistan’s accusations, the Economic Times, an Indian English-language newspaper, reported.
Historically, Pakistan has backed extremists targeting India. For instance, the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which killed more than 160 people, were linked to Pakistan. Pakistan was also behind the 1999 Kargil war in Kashmir.
The BLA attacks may prove to be yet another incident in the long conflict in Balochistan. They could also play into larger questions about how restive the Baloch region in Pakistan and Iran may have become.
In addition, the attacks might affect wider geopolitics in South Asia between Pakistan and India, and also events in Afghanistan.
Many issues are at stake. States bordering Iran have increased importance amid US-Iran tensions.
Furthermore, states in Central Asia are important to US interests.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy [to South and Central Asia] Sergio Gor “spoke today with Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov,” the US State Department reported last week. “They discussed progress in enhancing regional security and economic prosperity in Central Asia. Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to partnering with Turkmenistan to grow business ties and strengthen the bilateral relationship.”
US Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll was also in Turkmenistan last week, before heading to India on January 30.