BLA Militants Hijack Passenger Train in Pakistan’s Balochistan, Killing Security Personnel:

On the boldest terrorism event in Pakistan, an attack on March 11 by militants of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) involved hijacking the Jaffar Express passenger train that runs between Quetta and Peshwar. The militants used makeshift bombs to blow up railroad tracks, murdered three Frontier Corps soldiers guarding a nearby shelter, and proceeded to take control of over 440 hostages. While these actions were happening, passengers were being detained in the chaotic setting. A BLA affiliated account on social media took responsibility, claiming contact and a response from the government the account simultaneously provided updates about their attack and the response the Pakistani government put together. In excess of thirty six hours, the government utilized the airforce, army and paramilitary to help aid those on the train break free from the multi-level siege.

Aboard the train, eyewitnesses reported that militants had checked identity cards and separated civilians from soldiers. According to the militants, they set free a number of passengers, along with some women and children, even before the counter-offensive was started. Some sources in Pakistan claim that more than hundred people died, twenty to thirty from these being fatalities, while BLA propaganda has provided different figures on the losses of the security forces, with whom the BLA fighters were mainly engaged. The media report that greater than twenty soldiers were captured by BLA fighters and taken out of the area prior to the completion of the perimeter lockdown. These claims are normally difficult to confirm rapidly due to the lack of precise information in Pakistan as the militants tend to conceal the true number of casualties from the public after such incidents so as not to lose credibility.

Terrorist acts of this nature are commonplace in Pakistan within the period of 2 months, if not over two months

The sequence of serious incidents that has occurred in Pakistan during this quarter culminates in the hijacking of a train. In the first fortnight of March alone, it is estimated that Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces alone, Pakistan’s forces suffered in excess of two hundred casualties due to violence, with around sixty fatalities. It seems like once again Pakistan is reverting to the terrible patterns of tried and tested violence containment, which is bound to yield adverse outcomes not just for them but for the entire region.

The violence in Pakistan occurs every day. Since the train hijacking five days ago, several dozen people, both civilians and members of the security forces, have been killed in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which were the sites of more than a dozen attacks. Here, as has become the custom, security won’t respond to the terrorist violence but will instead set out to blame Afghanistan and India for sponsoring militancy while ascribing to ‘handlers’ in Afghanistan, and extolling itself over its ‘heroic’ rescue and counter-offensive operations.

Still acting as a counterpart to a terrorist threat

It is remarkable that the Pakistani authority has, in spite of everything, persisted in extending to the United States of America and the rest of the world an invitation to cooperate with it around its so-called counter-terrorism capabilities. On March 2, an operative of so-called ISIS-K, Sharifullah, was captured and delivered to the Americans. There is so far not much clarity about the nature of cooperation for this operation on both sides. What is clear though is that Sharifullah was supposed to have been part of the planning team for the infamous Abbe Gate suicide attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26 2021. During the already chaotic withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan, this attack single handedly claimed the lives of 13 servicemen and more than 170 Afghan civilians.

Issuing a strict travel advisory against travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Provinces, the United States stressed its limited ability to provide services to US citizens in these regions ‘and most areas outside of Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.’ The US advisory underscored their inability to provide support, which may have represented the real situation in Pakistan even prior to the train hijacking.

The Baloch Liberation Army and other separatist groups have been resuming attacks on military personnel, locations, and patrols as they regard, rightly or wrongly, the security forces of Pakistan oppressors of Baloch people. The State has chosen to ignore the issue of the alleged enforced disappearance of thousands of young Baloch men over the past few decades at the hands of Pakistan security services. The situation is worsened with relentless state-sponsored cultivation of discontent along with boldfaced terrorism of Baloch protests, utilizing the primed military that is deeply engaged in crafting and executing national security strategy. Along with the violent form of federation exhibited by the armed forces – ethnical and systematic exclusion – the socio-political framework does not allow the populace to address their grievances.

As part of their broader campaign, Baloch groups have turned their attention towards China. China is well aware that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the flagship projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. The CPEC traverses the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces before reaching the Gwadar port. Baloch militants have repeatedly warned China to recede from Baloch territory. It seems to be intended to compel China to force Pakistan to resolve the Balochistan issue so that CPEC can thrive.

One Size Fits All Security Strategy

Regrettably, the Pakistan security establishment does not distinguish between counter insurgency and counter-terrorism. There are two forms of violence that need to be addressed by different approaches. The military has become so dominant in Pakistan and so determined to maintain that power and control that it has destroyed institutions that might have been able to deal with the needs and grievances that precipitate the formation of such violent groups. The police and paramilitary forces are a tragic example of the consequences of the stupidity of policy and of the reality of very serious danger in the two provinces. It has also replaced local governance and authority, what little exists in Pakistan, and deepened the erosion of it.

An Afghan-Indian attack is being attributed to them by the ISPR like they do with many other attacks of this magnitude. The ISPR, as usual, is trying to steer focus towards other parties as it tries to shift focus away from its failings. The region is now highly volatile due to persistent border tussles with the Taliban, regular targeted killings in both these countries as well as the constant shutting down of the Af-Pak border trade routes. The means deployed to deal with external challenges, especially on the borders, will most certainly intensify the dangers posed both to and within Pakistan. This is clearly depicted with the US travel advisory issued recently – it's astounding how a single piece of notice is able to summarize the whole region's disquiet.