On 11th March 2025, the fighters from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the Jaffar Express, a passenger train travelling from Balochistan’s capital Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Baloch fighters launched the attack in the remote Bolan district, where they blew up the railway tracks, forcing the train to stop inside a tunnel. They opened fire, injuring the loco-pilot and hijacked the train taking over hundreds of passengers hostage. The nine bogies of the Jaffar Express were carrying over 400 passengers at the time of the attack.
In a statement, the Baloch Liberation Army said that if the Pakistani authorities launched an operation against them, they would kill all the hostages. While several media reports claim that 400 people have been taken hostage by BLA fighters, the rebel group in its statement said that they have taken over 100 passengers hostage.
“Any military incursion will be met with an equally forceful response. So far, six military personnel have been killed, and hundreds of passengers remain under BLA custody. The Baloch Liberation Army takes full responsibility for this operation,” the BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said adding that women, children and Baloch passengers were released.
Jeeyand Baloch said that this has been done to ensure that only serving personnel of the “occupying forces” remain with them. According to a statement from the BLA, women, children, and Baloch passengers have been freed, while military personnel remain captive. The BLA has held 182 passengers as hostages, the group’s statement released on Telegram said. It also warned of executions of hostages if the Pakistani army intervened.
The BLA stated that the attack was carried out by the BLA Majeed Brigade Fateh Squad and Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS). Notably, the Baloch Liberation Army which emerged in the early 2000s has a fidayeen (suicide) unit Majeed Brigade. This unit of the BLA has been active since 2011 and has been carrying out attacks on Pakistani security personnel.
Later, it emerged that the BLA fighter took around 300 hostages. The BLA fighters warned the Pakistani authorities against violent retaliation and said that they would execute 10 hostages in response to Pakistan’s ongoing operation against them.
Demands of the Balochistan Liberation Army and Pakistan’s reaction
The Balochistan Liberation Army issued a 48-hour ultimatum, demanding the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists and those subjected to forceful disappearances by the oppressive Pakistan Army. The Baloch fighters threatened to execute the hostages and destroy the Jaffar Express train if their demands were not met or if the Pakistan authorities launched a military operation.
The BLA initially said that they had killed 6 Pakistani military personnel during the attack, however, the death toll is estimated to be up to 30 Pakistani security personnel deaths in the 8-hour-long exchange of fire. While the Pakistani authorities confirmed that the train driver was injured and intense fighting ensued, they staying consistent with their nature are downplaying the casualties.
In response to the attack and hostage situation, the Pakistani authorities launched a rescue operation. Senior officer Rana Dilawar confirmed that helicopters and special forces were deployed to the mountainous area where the hijacked train remained stranded.
So far, the Pakistani authorities claimed to have rescued 104 hostages and killed 16 Baloch fighters. Some Baloch fighters took around 35 hostages to the nearby mountains, making it difficult for the Pakistani military personnel to rescue the hostages.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan government imposed emergency measures, including mobilising all institutions and declaring an emergency at a hospital in Sibi, 160 km southeast of Quetta to handle casualties.
Baloch rebel attacks humiliating Pakistan Army on a regular basis
The Baloch fighters seeking freedom of Balochistan from the occupation of Pakistan alongside the release of all the Baloch leaders and commoners abducted or unfairly jailed by the Pakistani authorities, have escalated their insurgency. In the recent past, the Baloch fighters have continuously been targeting Pakistani security forces and infrastructure with varied intensity.
In February 2025, the Baloch rebels killed 7 Pakistani personnel and injured 11 following a Baloch assault on a convoy of 29 trucks guarded by the Pakistan Army. Baloch rebels attacked the truck convoy on the Quetta-Karachi national highway. The convoy was carrying copper from the Saindak Project to Karachi. A statement issued by the Baloch Liberation Army stated that the convoy was of a Chinese company that was carrying resources away from Balochistan. BLA warned that any foreign company trying to exploit Balochistan’s resources would be equally attacked.
In January 2025, the BLA killed over 18 Pakistani soldiers in an attack on a military base in Kalat city. The intensity of this attack compelled Pakistani forces into a defensive posture, with plans for a major counteroffensive delayed because of intelligence failures and terrain disadvantages.
In September 2024, a major controversy erupted in Pakistan over the federal government’s move to enhance the powers of security forces in Balochistan. The revised legislation, intended to bolster the effectiveness of counterterrorism efforts, includes provisions allowing for the detention of individuals suspected of terrorism or posing national security threats for up to three months. These efforts by the Pakistani government to suppress the Baloch freedom struggle received widespread condemnation from its senators who warned that the new powers, which include warrantless searches and arrests, could worsen the situation in Balochistan–a province already reeling from recent coordinated attacks. Following this, the situation has only worsened in Balochistan.
In August 2024, 23 passengers from Punjab were killed in Balochistan’s Musakhail district on Monday (26th August) by suspected BLA gunmen. The BLA fighters stopped several buses, trucks, and vans that were coming from Pakistan’s Punjab province. They forced the passengers out of their vehicles and fatally shot at least 23 persons after checking their identities. Major clashes were reported on 26th August with BLA claiming that it has killed over 100 Pakistani army personnel under Operation Herof.
In November 2024, a BLA suicide bombing at the Quetta Railway Station killed 32 people and wounded over 62. The attack disrupted rail services temporarily. This attack was also carried out by BLA’s Majeed Brigade.
In October 2024, the Balochistan Liberation Army’s fidayeen unit Majeed Brigade killed two Chinese engineers working on the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
In March 2024, the BLA fighters killed 8 Chinese engineers.
Notably, the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006 was the pivotal event that escalated the anti-outsider sentiments among the Balochi insurgents.
The oppression and suppression of the people of Balochistan by the Pakistan Army and government is further aided by the deliberate silence of their media on atrocities against Baloch rebels and downplaying of the tense situation prevailing there.
In June 2024, it was reported that Pakistan, which essentially has become a puppet of China was rebuked by the Chinese government in a meeting. Beijing has asked Islamabad to launch another Zarb-e-Azb operation in Balochistan against its own citizens there so that Chinese workers and citizens can feel secure.
Origins of the Balochistan conundrum
The Baloch people are an ethnic group across Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, with Balochistan being the largest region they inhabit. Founded around 2000, the Baloch Liberation Army is said to be a resurgence of the Independence Balochistan Movement of 1973-77.
Historically, Balochistan was an independent entity under the Khan of Kalat until its coercive accession to Pakistan in March 1948 following the British withdrawal. The Khan of Kalat signed the instrument of accession under pressure and not out of his own will, neither were the Baloch people given a choice. A Standstill Agreement was signed between Kalat and Pakistan on August 11, 1947, under British supervision, recognising Kalat as an independent state. Kalat was the name given to what is now known as Balochistan.
However, in 1948, Pakistan forced the Khan to merge Balochistan into Pakistan. Pakistan wanted Balochistan to be merged into its federation. Pakistan’s first Governor-General and Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah presented this proposal to the Khan of Kalat and offered him to join their federation. The Khan of Kalat established the House of Commons and the House of Lords in Balochistan within 24 hours after the country’s proclamation of independence in 1947. The conference of Balochistan’s two houses was convened by Khan of Kalat on December 16th, 1947, to examine the prospect of joining Pakistan. The lawmakers of both Houses opposed joining Pakistan. The Khan of Kalat and his family were then imprisoned within the palace while Pakistan invaded Balochistan and seized power. Per the Pakistani narrative, except Kalat, all provinces of the erstwhile independent Balochistan— Makran, LasBela, and Kharan were willing to join Pakistan.
Since then, five major insurgencies—1948, 1958, 1962, 1973-77 and the ongoing conflict since the early 2000s, have erupted, driven by grievances of the Baloch people over political marginalisation, violent and torturous suppression and resource exploitation.
While the fire of Balochi nationalism reignited in 2000 with BLA spearheading the war of freedom against the Pakistani oppressors, the struggle intensified after the murder of prominent Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in August 2006. In response, the Pakistani establishment launched the policy of “Kill and Dump” in 2009 and began abducting the leaders of BLA, Baloch National Front, and Baloch Republican Party. Since then, countless Balochi freedom fighters have been abducted, brutalised and executed.
Gplus’s detailed report on how Balochistan found and lost its freedom, its forced accession to Pakistan, the Pakistani establishment’s perpetual oppression of the Baloch people and the many insurgencies that ensued can be read here.
Back in 2019, Gplus interviewed Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, founder and chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front. He said that the people of Baloch had no intention to join the democratic process of Pakistan as they have different cultures, languages, psyches, histories, and compact geography, albeit Pakistan occupied Balochistan by force. He said, “They (Pakistan) have no interest in the welfare of Balochistan and the Baloch nation. They are only interested in our 750-mile-long coast and minerals. So we Baloch have no way other than resistance, to divert the attention of the world towards oppressed Baloch.” Notably, this is one of the main reasons for attacks on Chinese nationals in the region.
Why the Baloch rebels oppose CPEC
The Baloch Liberation Army and other Balochi rebel outfits have long been targeting Chinese engineers etc in Balochistan to oppose the exploitation of Balochistan’s rich mineral resources while depriving the Balochi people of their rights and dignity. The locals have vehemently opposed to these projects and warned China against its “illegal settlement”, “occupation” and plundering of the region’s resources.
The CPEC is a multi-billion-dollar road project that is the result of a deal between the governments of Pakistan and China. The idea behind the project worth over $65 billion is to provide China with a clear path to transport its products from China to ports in Pakistan connecting it to the rest of the world. Alongside financial issues, the CPEC has also been facing resistance from the locals as the Pakistani governments have over the years, failed to convince the locals that the project is supposedly beneficial for them. Moreover, India has also registered its objection to the project as it passes from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Baloch rebels accused China and Pakistan of colluding to exploit Balochistan’s natural resources like oil and gas, especially through the Gwadar Port in Balochistan, without benefitting the local people. Moreover, the large-scale projects displace the Baloch communities and bring in outsiders, threatening their demographic and cultural identity.
While Pakistan and China promote Gwadar Port as the face of development in the Gwadar region, the reality for the local people is grim. Over 1,00,000 people have no access to clean drinking water. To date, the desalinisation plant in Gwadar remains non-operational with no proper supply of clean drinking water. The historical neglect of Balochistan and its people and the exploitation its resources have been the approach of the Pakistani establishment.
Balochistan is the most resource-rich region Pakistan has a hold on, having vast reserves of natural gas, oil, coal, copper and gold. However, despite the region’s resource affluence, its people have got nothing but economic exploitation from the Pakistani establishment. Take the case of Sui Gas Field.
Found in 1952, this gas field in Balochistan supplies much of Pakistan’s energy needs, yet Balochistan itself has very limited access to it. The excuse often given for this neglect is the rough terrains of Balochistan. However, Sui gas is supplied to the remote areas of Sindh and Punjab. While the CPEC promised billions in revenue, the Baloch people expect nothing to reach their pockets as evident from the high unemployment, and profits being funneled to Punjab-dominated elites or Chinese investors.
Historical neglect, economic exploitation, political marginalisation and cultural erasure: Pakistan squeezing Balochistan of its resources and giving nothing in return
The chagrin of the Baloch rebels also arises from the fact that Pakistan treats Balochistan as a colonial resource base from where, it extracts wealth while leaving the region undeveloped. This is corroborated by the fact that around 70% of the population in Balochistan is identified as multidimensionally poor which is highest in Pakistan. Moreover, Balochistan makes up 4% of Pakistan’s GDP and 40% of natural gas is supplied to other provinces. Balochistan is reported to be using only 17% of its resources while the rest 83% are sent to other provinces of Pakistan. Balochistan is also way behind in basic facilities like education and healthcare.
Pakistan is known to have a Punjab-dominated system. Despite being the largest province by land area, Balochistan has minimal representation in the federal government and army, where the Punjabis hold disproportionate power. The Baloch rebels have long been asserting that the provincial government is nothing but a puppet of Islamabad. Even elections in Balochistan are marred with rigging as seen in February 2024 when Baloch nationalists protested against the election rigging in favour of parties aligned with the interests of the Pakistani army, and voter suppression.
In addition to political marginalisation, the Baloch nationalists have also raised the issue of the systematic erasure of their linguistic and cultural identity by the Pakistani establishment over the decades. The Baloch people have their own language Balochi, traditions, and tribal structure. However, instead of protecting and promoting the unique identity of these people, Pakistan has been hell-bent on eroding the cultural identity of Balochistan. Schools in Balochistan rarely teach Balochi language, and Urdu language alongside Punjabi cultural norms dominate state institutions. The Baloch rebels argue that their fight is a defence of cultural survival and accuse Pakistan of imposing a homogenous identity that would destroy the unique identity of Balochistan. The historical crackdowns on Baloch intellectuals and educators make it evident that Pakistan wants to silence the Baloch voices.
Human rights abuses
Since the early 2000s, Pakistan has adopted a “kill and dump” policy with thousands of Baloch activists, students, and civilians abducted or detained without trial, exiled, tortured and killed with their dead bodies discarded to rot. While human rights groups say that over 20,000 people have gone missing, with a 2024 UN Working Group report documenting 5,000 unresolved cases, the Pakistani authorities justify this as ‘counter-terrorism’. The BLA and other Baloch rebel groups assert that this is an ongoing genocide aimed at crushing their freedom movement.
In July 2024, thousands of Baloch people gathered near Gwadar port city for the Baloch National Gathering, popularly known as Baloch Raaji Muchi to protest the state brutality and Baloch genocide. Pakistan could not stand even a peaceful gathering of the Baloch people and the Pakistani security personnel began kidnapping, intimidating and even shooting Baloch people flocking to Gwadar to attend the event. In December 2024, residents of Parom, a town in the Panjgur district of Balochistan, staged a sit-in outside a local Frontier Corps (FC) camp, calling for the immediate release of their missing family members.
The Baloch Human Rights Council said last year citing data that 65 individuals were subjected to enforced disappearances in the first quarter of 2024, and 11 individuals were extrajudicially killed by Pakistani security forces.
Pakistan’s oppressive rule in Balochistan has sown the seeds of its own turmoil, reaping the harvest of a rebellion it can no longer contain. Decades of plundering the province’s riches, silencing the voices, and answering reasonable dissent with forced disappearances and brutalities, have escalated to a point where Baloch nationalists are compelled to undertake violent measures to have their voices heard. Pakistan’s approach of prioritising unchecked control over justice and exploitation over equal rights, cultural erasure over preservation, has fuelled the very freedom struggle it desperately seeks to crush. After all, oppression breeds resistance.
