Pakistan and Iran have experienced diplomatic and military tension as both countries exchanged missile strikes using drones against specific targets in border villages.
Iran started targeting sites it claimed belonged to the Jaish al-Adl organization in the Pakistani Balochistan region. Tehran alleges that the group uses Pakistani territories as bases to launch attacks into Iranian territory.
In response, Pakistan targeted seven sites in three different villages, stating that they belonged to the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front, armed groups seeking broader independence for the Balochistan region from Pakistan.
The two countries often exchange accusations of supporting armed organizations or failing to take necessary actions to prevent attacks from being carried out from each other’s territories. They also accuse each other of using their territories as safe havens for these organizations.
Here are the main Baloch groups opposing Pakistan, which Islamabad claims are operating against it from Iranian territories:
Baloch Liberation Army (Baloch National Army)
This armed ethnic nationalist organization is composed mostly of members of the “Marri and Bugti” tribes. It fights against the Pakistani government for greater regional independence in the Pakistani Balochistan region. The group was categorized as a terrorist organization in Pakistan and Britain in 2006.
The organization, also known as the “Baloch National Army,” was founded in 2000 and has carried out several armed operations, using explosive devices and small arms attacks against Pakistani government institutions and foreign workers in Balochistan.
Some consider the organization to be a resurgence of previous Baloch ethnic nationalist rebellion movements, specifically the Balochistan Liberation Movement that was active from 1973 to 1977, and was considered the oldest and most influential organization among the Baloch nationalist movements.
Notably, the actions and movements of the Baloch Liberation Army from 2000 to 2003 are largely undocumented. However, in May 2003, a series of attacks resulted in the deaths of police officers and other civilian residents.
One year later, the Baloch Liberation Army attacked Chinese workers who were employed in government projects and private companies under government protection. In response, the Pakistani army deployed approximately 20,000 additional troops in Balochistan to confront the armed groups, protect government institutions, and foreign workers in the region.
The conflict between the Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani state intensified after the assassination attempt on the former Pakistani president “Pervez Musharraf,” leading to more intense operations against the organization, as well as its terrorist designation in 2006.
In August 2008, the Pakistani forces killed the Baloch leader “Sardar Akbar Bugti.” Additionally, in November 2007, “Mir Balach Marri” was killed, both influential figures in Balochistan.
Tensions escalated between Pakistan and China over agreements to develop the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, which overlooks the Arabian Sea, as the Baloch Liberation Army perceives these agreements as evidence of its grievances with the Pakistani government, claiming that it monopolizes the natural resources in Balochistan and discriminates ethnically amongst the region’s citizens.
In September 2008, the Baloch Liberation Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, Baloch Republican Army, and the Pakistani government announced a ceasefire, with negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. However, the ceasefire ended in January 2009 after the Baloch Liberation Army withdrew from the agreement, frustrated by the lack of practical steps by the Pakistani government to initiate negotiations.
After the death of Baloch Liberation Army leader “Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri” in 2014, internal disagreements arose within the organization, leading to the formation of the United Baloch Army (UBA), led by his sons.
The Baloch Liberation Army includes the Mejarad Battalion, which is known for executing “suicide” operations within the organization. One of its prominent attacks was the suicide bombing that targeted a Chinese institute at Karachi University in the Sindh region of Pakistan in April 2022.
In September 2023, Bashir Zeb, who leads the Baloch Liberation Army, sent a video message primarily to international powers, particularly China, calling for refraining from partnering with Pakistan in exploiting Balochistan’s resources and suggesting that these countries establish relations with the Baloch after Pakistan’s withdrawal.
Balochistan Liberation Front
This armed Baloch ethnic organization fights against the Pakistani government for an “independent Baloch state,” similar to the demands of other Baloch organizations, with its attacks primarily concentrated in the Pakistani Balochistan region.
Founded in Syria in 1964, the organization began its armed activities four years after its establishment. Additionally, it fought against the Iranian government alongside Iranian Baloch groups during the Iranian Baloch uprising, which some sources claim was supported by the Iraqi regime at the time.
However, the Iranian Baloch uprising halted in 1973 after negotiations with the Shah’s regime. After the conflict ended in Iran, the Balochistan Liberation Front and other Baloch groups turned to fighting and inciting rebellion against the Pakistani state, demanding the independence of the Pakistani Balochistan region.
Due to the escalating conflict in the region, the Pakistani government deployed 80,000 soldiers to combat Baloch organizations, forcing some of them to flee to Iran, including the Balochistan Liberation Front.
According to some sources, the Soviet Union supported the Balochistan Liberation Front in reassembling its ranks, enabling it to return to Balochistan. However, it remained without conducting public activities after the end of the rebellion phase in 1977 until 2004.
After the conflict reignited in 2004, the organization re-emerged in the public eye when militants killed three foreign Chinese workers employed in a Pakistani development project in Balochistan. The organization was attributed to the killings.
The organization is led by Allah Nazar Baloch, and he is believed to be responsible for the re-emergence of the Balochistan Liberation Front in 2004 to engage in armed activities against the Pakistani government. He was arrested by Pakistani forces in 2005 and released in 2015.
During one period, the Balochistan Liberation Front and the Baloch Liberation Army focused on attacking journalists. According to one source, among a total of 38 journalists killed in Balochistan from 2007 to 2014, both the organizations claimed responsibility for the killings of 27 of these journalists.
A demonstration organized by residents in the Balochistan region in 2016 in support of the Pakistani army against India (French)
United Baloch Army
This armed Baloch ethnic organization fights against the Pakistani government for the independence of the Balochistan region. It was formed in 2010 after separating from the Baloch Liberation Army and is classified as a terrorist organization in Pakistan and Switzerland. Its leader, Mehran Marri, who holds British nationality, was arrested in November 2017 and was banned from entering Switzerland for life.
The Baloch Republican Army merged with the United Baloch Army in January 2022 to form the Baloch National Army, where both organizations were announced dissolved after the formation of the new organization, led by Gulzar Imam, who was arrested by Pakistani forces in April 2023.
The Baloch National Army, one of the first Baloch organizations with expanded attack capabilities to include attacks outside the Balochistan region, carried out a bombing operation in the capital of the Punjab region, Lahore, in January 2022.
Baloch National Movement’s Freedom Alliance
Known as “Baloch Raaji Aajohi Sanjaar,” it is an alliance of three armed Baloch nationalist organizations (Baloch Liberation Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, and Baloch National Army). The Baloch Freedom Movement’s Alliance aims to unite the strength of armed Baloch organizations in confronting the Pakistani state. It was the first alliance of Baloch organizations established by the Baloch Freedom Movement’s Alliance.
Founded in November 2018, it was the brainchild of Allah Nazar Baloch, the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army, who met with these organizations before announcing the alliance. Initially, the alliance included the Baloch Liberation Army and the Baloch Republican Army, but after the inclusion of the United Baloch Army and the formation of the Baloch National Army under Gulzar Imam’s leadership, it became the participating organization in the alliance.
According to the alliance’s statement, the main reason for its creation is the growing sense among Baloch separatist nationalist groups that internal disputes only weakened the rebellion movement. The alliance also provides flexibility to the participating organizations, allowing them to share and consolidate resources.
After the arrest of Gulzar Imam, the leader of the Baloch National Army, in April 2023, the organization, through its spokesperson Mareed Baloch, announced its separation from the alliance following revelations of “conspiracies to divide the organization.”
