Kiyya Baloch
In an unprecedented attack, Baloch nationalist separatists hijacked a moving passenger train in southwestern Pakistan on March 11 and took more than 400 passengers of the Jaffar Express hostage.
After nearly 30 hours, Pakistan’s military announced on the evening of March 12 that security forces had rescued more than 300 hostages in a counter-operation. However, on March 14, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which took responsibility for the attack, claimed it had executed 214 captives. The conflicting statements highlight the longstanding challenge of independently verifying information in Balochistan, where both the militants and the state impede the free flow of information.
The attack once again triggered debate in Pakistan – not over massive security failures or the province’s long-standing grievances, but rather on why the Baloch civil rights movement and its leadership do not publicly condemn the BLA.
A Surge in Violence and Pressure on the Baloch Yekjehti Committee
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most volatile province, has long been a scene of violent separatist insurgency and ethnic tensions. However, the scale and intensity of militant attacks have surged in recent years. Observers say Pakistan’s military strategy, which prioritizes force over addressing underlying political and economic grievances through dialogue, has aggravated the insurgency and deepened ethnic tensions.
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