Pakistan train hijack: Who are the Balochistan Liberation Army militants?

Pakistani militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) ambushed the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in Balochistan’s Bolan district, injuring the train’s driver and holding 182 passengers, including security personnel, hostage.

Security forces, including Frontier Constabulary and army units, gathered near the attack site. The BLA, which both Pakistan and the United States classify as a terrorist group, has been waging an insurgency against the Pakistani government for decades.

The group claimed responsibility for the attack and issued a warning of “severe consequences” if authorities attempted a rescue operation. Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the assault, vowing that the government would not negotiate with “beasts who fire on innocent passengers.”

Who are the BLA?

The BLA claims that the Pakistani government forcibly annexed Balochistan in 1948 by pressuring the region’s former ruler, the Khan of Kalat, into signing the instrument of accession. The group, which seeks independence for Balochistan, argues that the province’s vast natural resources are exploited by the central government while its ethnic Baloch population remains marginalized and impoverished.

Baloch insurgents accuse Pakistan’s military leadership and Punjabi elites of plundering the province’s wealth for their own benefit. Following Tuesday’s attack, the BLA released a statement declaring that “the valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation.”

The insurgency gained momentum after China, Pakistan’s key strategic ally, launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the region. The BLA has repeatedly targeted China-backed projects and engineers, leading Pakistan to bolster security for these sites.

In its latest statement, the group “strongly warned” foreign investors against participating in what it called the “exploitation of occupied Balochistan’s resources.”

The BLA intensified its attacks in November 2022 when it instructed its fighters to resume hostilities against Pakistani security forces. Analysts say the group has been emboldened by the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Islamabad-based expert Abdullah Khan told the Associated Press that the BLA operates with the backing of other militant factions, reported Hindustan Times.

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.