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March 13, 2025 | 11:44 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Security forces in Pakistan say they have rescued some passengers of a train hijacked by a group of separatists on its journey on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan province in the southwest, to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest.
However, the rescue of the remaining passengers has become difficult. Suicide bomber militants from the separatist group sat beside some of the dozens of hostages in the train hijacking in southwest Pakistan, according to security sources on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, as reported by Reuters.
The hijacking began when around 60 Balochi militants blew up a train track and fired rockets on Tuesday in the Jaffar Express, carrying over 400 passengers, said a security official. So far, 190 of them have been rescued, as per government officials. The fighters associated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group seeking the secession of Balochistan from Pakistan, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The BLA is the strongest of several insurgent groups that have long been operating in the region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The area is known for its mineral wealth and is the location of Beijing's investment in the deep-sea port of Gwadar and other projects.
From what was previously a small-scale insurgency, the militants have increased their activities in recent months, using new tactics to cause numerous casualties and targeting the Pakistani military.
Following are the facts about this group, which also targets Chinese interests, as summarized by Reuters.
What Is the Objective of BLA?
BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, the southwest Pakistan province bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. BLA is the largest ethnic militant rebel group among several rebel groups that have been fighting the federal government for several decades. They claim that the federal government is unfairly exploiting Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources.
Rebels have been fighting to claim local resources, which they say belong to their people. The mountainous border region of Balochistan serves as a hideout and training ground for Baloch rebels and Islamist militants.
How Has This Group Become More Deadly?
BLA shocked the state security institutions when they stormed army and navy bases in 2022. They deployed female suicide bombers, including in attacks on Chinese nationals at a university in Karachi and bombings in southwest Balochistan.
An umbrella group of several Baloch ethnic factions said last week that they had brought all factions together to unite them under an integrated military structure. A splinter BLA group that was inactive, known as BLA (AZAD), has become active in recent weeks.
What Are the Targets of BLA?
BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but also attacks other areas - particularly the southern port city of Karachi. The rebels target the Pakistan army and Chinese interests, particularly the strategic port of Gwadar in the Arabian Sea, and accuse Beijing of aiding Islamabad in exploiting the province.
The militants have killed Chinese workers in the area and attacked the Beijing consulate in Karachi. BLA, separately, also became the focal point of reciprocal attacks last year between Iran and Pakistan on what they termed as militant bases in each other's territories, almost leading both countries to war.
Why Is Balochistan Important?
Balochistan is an important part of China's $65 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a branch of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. It is home to major mining projects, including Reko Diq, operated by mining giant Barrick Gold, and believed to be one of the world's largest gold and copper mines. China also operates gold and copper mines in the province.
Decades-long rebellion has continued to make the sparsely populated province of about 15 million people unstable and raises security concerns related to Pakistan's plans to access untapped resources. The province is the largest in Pakistan by area but the smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long coastline along the Arabian Sea, not far from the oil shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
Hundreds of Baloch activists, many of them women, have staged protests in Islamabad and Balochistan over alleged security force abuses - allegations denied by the government. Islamabad has accused India and Afghanistan of supporting the militants to damage Pakistan's relations with China, an allegation refuted by both countries.
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