Pakistan train hijack: What is the Baloch Liberation Army?

Pakistani militants from the Baloch freeing regular army (BLA) attacked the Peshawar-bound jafar umar thalib state rail in the Bolan district, injuring the driver and holding over 400 passengers, including security forces, hostage in a deserted mountainous area.Claiming responsibility for the attack, the group “warned of severe consequences” if an attempt is made to rescue the hostages. Pakistan's interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack and said the government would not make any concessions to “beasts who fire on innocent passengers.”Also read | Pakistan train hijack: Militants threaten to 'execute' hostages; over 400 onboardWho are the BLA?The BLA accused the Pakistani government of a forceful takeover of Balochistan by forcing their former king Khan of Kalat to sign the instrument of accession in March 1948. The militant group, designated by the US and Pakistan as a terrorist organisation, has been engaged in a decades-long insurgency against the Pakistan government, seeking independence for the natural resource-rich province.The militants have been accusing the central government of exploiting the least-populated region's oil and mineral wealth while the ethnic Baloch minority of the province faces discrimination and battle poverty. Security forces battling insurgency have been accused of human rights abuses and forced disappearances by the Baloch minority.“Pakistani military generals and their Punjabi elite are looting these resources for their luxury. The valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation,” the BLA statement after the Tuesday attack said.Militancy in the province gathered momentum since China, Pakistan's strategic ally, began implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the region.Its statement on Tuesday “strongly warned” all foreign investors not to participate in the “exploitation of occupied Balochistan's resources.” The BLA has also attacked China-backed infrastructure projects and Chinese engineers in the past, prompting Pakistan to increase security cover for these establishments.In November 2022, the BLA ordered its fighters to resume attacks on security forces as a ceasefire between the Taliban and the US in Afghanistan emboldened the group. Islamabad-based analyst Abdullah Khan told AP that the BLA is operating in the province with the support of other groups.According to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group, more than 1,600 people were killed in attacks in Pakistan in 2024, the deadliest year in almost a decade.

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