Balochistan: Which banned organizations are involved in militancy?

August 26 was a bloody day in Balochistan, when on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the banned organization Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) Attacks 54 people lost their lives.

The BLA called these attacks ‘Operation Herof’. The security situation in the province has worsened in recent years.

According to the 2023 annual security report of the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, 86 people were killed in 78 attacks by the BLA and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) in 19 districts of the province last year, most of which were related to security. It was from institutions.

But in the first eight months of this year, 149 people have been killed in 117 attacks. According to data from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, the BLA carried out the largest number of attacks, 62 percent, in which 125 people were killed.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, there have been 3,225 incidents of terrorism in the province since 2000, in which 9,491 people lost their lives. These deaths are the result of actions by separatists as well as Taliban and sectarian groups.

Details of attacks in Balochistan till August 27, 2024 (courtesy of Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies)

Which banned organizations are involved in the ongoing separatist movement in Balochistan? How do they work and in what areas do they cover?

In a recent report by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, Pakistan’s Evolving Militant Landscape, eight militant groups are fighting in the province, but the BLA and BLF are the largest. are

Balochistan Liberation Army

Banned Baloch separatist group BLA Pakistan is active for a separate state comprising the Baloch regions of Iran and Afghanistan. It has two factions, one is led by Harb Yar Marri while the other is led by Bashir Zeb.

The Bashir Zeb group is also part of an alliance of four militant organizations called the Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS). Bashir Zeb also heads the BLA’s Majeed Brigade, which was organized by Aslam Baloch.

Hamal Baloch is dynamic as Bashir Zeb’s predecessor. Other important commanders of this group include Noor Bakhsh Mengal, Rahim Gul and Agha Sher Dal.

Buzdar Khan heads the logistics unit. Locals say that BLA has three sub-units. One operational, second logistical and third intelligence.

Jeevind Baloch is the spokesman of the organization. The focus of most of the BLA’s operations are Baloch populated areas, but the group is also active in some areas of Karachi.

The BLA Murree group is active in Asphal Gaya, Mastung districts as well as Machh, Harnai, Naseerabad, Jafarabad, Laura Lai, Quetta and Awaran districts.

On the other hand, the BLA Zeb Group has its sights set on the coastal belt of Balochistan and eastern Balochistan.

During the last two years, the scope of BLA operations has expanded to 22 districts of Balochistan.

However, this group continues to attack frequently in Bolan, Harnai, Kalat, Kech, Khuzdar, Panjgur, Quetta, Sibi, Nushki and Mastung.

BLA targets security institutions, large development projects and their non-Baloch employees, especially Chinese and Punjabis.

Baloch separatists surrender in a ceremony in Quetta on April 21, 2017 (AFP)

Balochistan Liberation Front:

The group was founded in 2003 by young nationalist leaders Dr. Allah Nazr, Ghulam Muhammad Baloch and Wahid Qamber.

Initially he received training and support from the BLA. Politically, this group belongs to the Balochistan National Movement, most of whose people are settled outside Pakistan in Western countries.

The group is also supported by BNM and BSO Azad. This group consists of nationalist Baloch middle-class youth. Its head Dr. Allah Nazar also has a close relationship with Hamal Haider Baloch who is active at the global level.

Allah Nazr was also associated with the National Party of Dr. Malik Baloch, who was the Chief Minister of Balochistan at one time.

Dr. Allah Nazar is believed to have hideouts on both sides of Pakistan-Iran border. Some observers claim that they are in Afghanistan.

Other important BLF leaders in Pakistan include Akhtar Nadeem and Khalil Baloch. Guram Baloch is the spokesperson of this group.

The headquarter of this group is in the valley-like tehsil Balida of Kech district, bordering Iran. This group is active in the districts of Mishkil (Kharan), Awaran, Panjgur, along with the coastal areas of Basima, Washak, Jiwani and Pasni.

In the last two years, the group has repeatedly targeted five southern districts, including Gwadar, Kech, Lasbela, Panjgur and Awaran.

This group against China and CPEC was also found involved in some attacks in Quetta and Karachi.

Brass (Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar):

This alliance of Baloch separatist groups was formed in 2018 and included BLA, BLF, Baloch Republican Guards and BNA.

It was aimed at targeting Chinese projects in Pakistan. In the following years, this alliance emerged as a major threat. However, after the arrest of Imam Gulzar of BNA, this alliance suffered a setback.

The coalition also targeted the 2024 election campaign and according to data from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, it carried out 18 attacks targeting political leaders, activists and security forces during the two months of January and February 2024.

Baloch Republican Army (BRA):

BRA is also known as Bugti Militia which consists of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s clan.

In the last five years, it has expanded its network to other districts of Balochistan to recruit youth, with Gwadar and Kech districts at the top.

Its fighters are supported by the BLF. Pakistan’s security agencies believe that the Balochistan Republican Army is the military wing of the Baloch Republican Party and Brahmadagh Bugti is running this group.

United Baloch Army:

It is a breakaway faction from the Balochistan Liberation Army. A hard-line Baloch commander named Abdul Nabi Bangalzai, who was expelled from the BLA for looting civilians and Baloch businessmen, is the ringleader of this dangerous group.

Generally, Baloch rebel groups do not attack civilians, especially Baloch people, but Bengalzai believes that those who do not support Baloch secession also deserve punishment.

Bengalzai later joined the BLF. The leader of the other part of this group is Mehran Murray, who is based in London and continues to campaign against Pakistan.

This group consists mostly of warriors from the Murree tribe, but warriors from Saravan and Bolan are also part of it.

This group is active in the districts of Chagai, Nushki, Bolan, Lasbela, Basima and Washik.

Baloch Republican Guards:

Bakhtiar Domki founded the group after his wife and daughter were killed in Karachi in 2012.

Domki was married to Brahmadagh Bugti’s sister. This group is no longer active but its presence is reported in Naseerabad district.

In 2023, the group claimed responsibility for two attacks, one in Quetta and the other in Sahabatpur. This group is also part of Bras alliance.

Lashkar-e Balochistan:

The group, which came into being in 2008, mostly targeted the Makran division. However, it seems to be inactive in recent years.

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

Analysts believe that it includes supporters of Mengal clan and Balochistan National Party Mengal group.

However, the BNP Mengal group does not consider itself a part of the military resistance. Lashkar Balochistan is headed by Mir Javed Mengal, who is the elder brother of BNP chief Akhtar Mengal.

Mir Javed Mengal resides in London and Dubai and denies any connection with Lashkar Balochistan.

Javed Mengal and his son Mir Nuruddin Mengal are busy presenting Balochistan’s case at international forums.

Mir Nooruddin Mengal is active in UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organizations) which regularly organizes events on the issue of Balochistan in America. Lashkar Balochistan is active in Lasbela, Makran, Khuzdar and Panjgur.

Baloch National Army:

The BNA has suffered a lot recently due to the abandonment of violent activities by two of its key leaders.

The group was formed in 2022 due to the merger of two insurgent Baloch groups that included militants from the UBA, BRA and BNA breakaways.

The purpose of its establishment was to increase the Baloch resistance movement. However, its leader Gulzar Imam, also known as Shambe, expressed remorse for his past military actions in a press conference in Quetta on May 23, 2023.

This press conference was declared as a major success of the intelligence agencies. Then in December, BNA commander and spokesman Sarfaraz Ahmad Bengalzai, known as Mureed Baloch, surrendered along with 70 of his associates.