Question and Answer: The Region of Balochistan Between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran

Question:

Dar al-Hilal published on 14/09/2024: "Pakistani police announced today, Saturday, the death of at least two of its members in an explosion that occurred near a police bus in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province in the southwest of the country..." Pakistan had previously witnessed its most widespread attacks in years as part of an ethnic insurgency waged by militants for decades, "where more than 73 people were killed in several attacks... and in a statement sent via email to journalists, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks." (Al-Hurra, 27/08/2024). Why the escalation of these attacks in Balochistan? Is Britain involved in creating problems for the army? Is America itself causing problems to distract the army away from occupied Kashmir and India? Is India also involved? And does China have a role in this?

Answer: To clarify the answer to the above questions, we review the following matters:

First: The region of Balochistan extends between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. In southwestern Pakistan, it is known as the Pakistani province of Balochistan with its capital Quetta. In southeastern Iran, it is known as the Sistan and Baluchestan province with its capital Zahedan. It also extends more than a hundred kilometers into southern Afghanistan, including parts of the southern provinces of Nimroz, Helmand, and Kandahar. Demographically, the Pakistani part of Balochistan is the most important of all, inhabited by about 20 million Baloch as well as Pashtuns. Its area constitutes about 44% of Pakistan, and about 6% of Pakistan's population (which is about 240 million) lives there. It is one of the richest regions in Pakistan in terms of natural resources, especially gas and minerals, and is considered one of the largest sites in the world for copper and gold. For example, the Canadian company Barrick Gold owns about 50% of the Reko Diq mine located in Balochistan. Balochistan has become an important part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), within the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, which China is funding to reach the Arabian Sea at the port of Gwadar near the Gulf of Oman. Additionally, China is building an international airport in Gwadar. Therefore, Balochistan province is of great importance in Pakistan. As for the Iranian part, it is inhabited by nearly 3 million people, while the number of Baloch in the Afghan part is estimated at less than a million. The people of Balochistan in these three countries are almost all Sunni Muslims. Islam entered these regions early in the year 23 AH during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). After disturbances there created by the Hindu Kingdom of Sindh, the Khilafah regained control over it during the era of Caliph Muawiyah, who conquered it anew. The Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan made it a launching point for the conquest of the land of Sindh.

Second: Many separatist groups with nationalist orientations are spread in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. They have been waging guerrilla warfare against the Pakistani army since the late 1960s. The most famous and largest of these groups is the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), founded in 2000. This group is locally allied with another major group, the oldest of these groups, the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), founded in 1964, which fought guerrilla warfare against the Pakistani army and participated in operations against the Iranian army inside Iran. There are other groups of less weight. As is the case with armed organizations that find themselves in dire need of money and weapons, the separatist groups in Balochistan soon found themselves a destination for various intelligence agencies. With the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 and Pakistan's transformation into a base for the Mujahideen against the Soviets, Moscow began to support separatist groups in Balochistan to spite Pakistan. With the success of the Khomeini revolution in Iran in 1979 and the subsequent outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi regime began to support those groups (BLA) for military action in Iran. Similarly, India supported those groups in Balochistan against the backdrop of its wars with Pakistan over Kashmir. When America wanted India to be a pillar of its axis against China, both parties (India and America) began supporting those groups in Balochistan with the aim of distracting the Pakistani army with internal battles and keeping it away from India's borders and its control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Third: These are the political facts necessary to understand the reality of the attacks and the guerrilla warfare waged by armed groups or factions in Balochistan against the Pakistani army. By tracking those attacks and their development over decades, we find the following:

1. Before the American occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistani governments used to contact those groups and conclude peace agreements with them. The 1990s was a period of relatively great calm. However, the attacks of those groups, especially the Balochistan Liberation Army, worsened significantly and their large scale appeared since 2003. Pakistan responded and killed the separatist leader in Balochistan, Nawab Akbar Bugti, in 2006, and the situation ignited.
2. Pakistan witnessed on August 25 and 26, 2024, the most widespread attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army in years, killing about 73 people targeting police stations, railway lines, and vehicles on a highway in Balochistan. ("The most violent attacks occurred on Monday 26/08/2024 on a highway connecting the provinces of Balochistan and Punjab in Musa district, where gunmen intercepted buses and trucks and killed 23 Punjabi workers by gunfire after checking their identities, according to local sources... The Pakistani army also announced that it killed 21 separatist gunmen in Balochistan... In 2023, about 110 attacks were carried out, and in the first months of 2024, about 62 attacks were carried out—according to statistics from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies—based in Islamabad"... Al Jazeera, 26/08/2024).
3. ("Pakistani police announced today, Saturday, the death of at least two of its members in an explosion that occurred near a police bus in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province in the southwest of the country... while initial reports indicate that it was caused by an explosive device planted on the side of the road... Dar al-Hilal, 14/09/2024).

Fourth: In addition to targeting the Pakistani army and police, those groups have begun to specifically target Chinese nationals and Chinese projects within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project in Pakistan. These attacks can be reviewed as follows:

1. There are several major projects managed by China in Balochistan. ("Five Chinese nationals working at the Dasu hydroelectric dam construction site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide bombing that targeted their vehicle... Al-Hurra, 27/08/2024).
2. Six people were killed in an explosion when their convoy was hit by a suicide attack ("This is the third major attack targeting Chinese interests in Pakistan within a week. The previous two explosions targeted an air base and a strategic port in Balochistan province in the southwest of the country, where China is investing billions in infrastructure projects." Asharq Al-Awsat, 26/03/2024).
3. ("The Balochistan Liberation Army includes the Majeed Brigade, which carries out 'suicide' operations, and one of its most prominent attacks was the 'suicide' bombing that targeted a Chinese institute at Karachi University in Sindh province in April 2022." Al Jazeera Net, 01/02/2024).
4. These attacks are repeated: from the killing of Chinese engineers in August 2018 (Reuters, 11/08/2018) to the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November 2018 (Sky News Arabia, 23/11/2018), and the attack against a luxury hotel where Chinese people usually stay in the city of Gwadar in Balochistan in May 2019 (Al-Hurra, 12/05/2019) where the famous port established by China is located.
5. Separatists also target Chinese interests and Chinese workers in Balochistan. Recently, on 13/08/2024, they attacked a convoy carrying Chinese engineers to the port of Gwadar. Similar incidents occurred previously where Chinese academics working within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which is considered one of the pillars of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, were killed. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said ("The attacks aim to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor"... Al-Araby, 30/08/2024).

Fifth: As for the parties directing these attacks against China's interests and against the Pakistani army, it is India, and behind India is America:

1. As for India's interest in those attacks on the Pakistani army, it can be observed in the following matters: a. In 2018, The News International newspaper pointed to security reports about India allocating more than 50 billion rupees (261 million dollars) to target the economic corridor by creating disturbances in Balochistan. (Al Jazeera Net, 15/05/2022). b. The Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army, General Raheel Sharif, and the local Chief Minister of Balochistan province, in addition to the Chairman of the Senate, Raza Rabbani, ("accused Indian intelligence of involvement in the matter. Sharif pointed out that India wants to sabotage huge economic projects worth 46 billion dollars started by China in Balochistan province, and New Delhi fears that they will negatively affect its economy, saying: 'An attempt to destabilize security in the province and target the economic corridor project between Pakistan and China'." Noon Post, 18/08/2016). c. This group returns to the forefront today ("after claiming a suicide attack that targeted the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi, the country's economic capital, on June 29, which led to the death of seven people. Immediately after the attack, Pakistan accused India of planning it and supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army and all other Baloch separatist movements." Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, 12/07/2020). d. And ("Pakistan arrested last year on 09/04/2023 the leader and founder of what is known as the Balochistan National Army, which was established in January 2022, Gulzar Imam, who is responsible for dozens of attacks in Balochistan and Punjab." The Pakistani army's media wing announced that the main intelligence agency in the army said "that Gulzar Imam visited India and Afghanistan, and that hostile intelligence agencies tried to exploit him to work against Pakistan and its national interests." Al Jazeera, 12/09/2023).

2. As for America's interest from the attacks of the Balochistan army, it appears in the following: a. India, from 2014 until today, has been ruled by America's agents in the BJP led by Modi, who implements American policy toward China. Therefore, everything India has done and is doing toward China falls within the circle of serving America's interests using Indian tools. b. ("Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar warned the United States of America against interfering in her country's internal affairs. The minister was speaking after the US Congress approved a resolution calling for Balochistan province to obtain the right to self-determination. However, the Pakistani minister said she realizes that this resolution does not reflect official US government policy." BBC, 20/02/2012). c. In 2022, the United States signed an agreement with the government of Balochistan to build the first police investigation school in Balochistan, giving the United States a major role in developing legal investigations, police investigations, and law and order in the province. This was an entry point for American interference in the affairs of Balochistan!

Sixth: Thus, we see that America has an interest in exploiting these separatist nationalist movements in Balochistan to threaten Chinese interests as part of its policy toward China. Rather, it appears that America and its follower, India, are exploiting them to strike Chinese interests while India is engaged in a struggle against China due to its border disputes and in service of American interests. All these American goals are being achieved on the ground today; the Pakistani army has been preoccupied in its internal regions away from India and especially Kashmir, busied in Balochistan with counter-insurgency and pursuing separatist groups. ("As a result of the escalating conflict in the province, the Pakistani government deployed 80,000 soldiers to fight Baloch organizations..." Al Jazeera Net, 01/02/2024). The usual Pakistani statements and threats against India have disappeared and been replaced by threats against terrorism and rebels. Thus, the Indian front has been secured from the Pakistani side, allowing its army to deploy along its borders with China, followed by clashes there—which is what America wants: to preoccupy China in a confrontation with India.

Seventh: As for Britain, although there is no evidence of its activities or the activities of its agents in the Gulf within Pakistani Balochistan, ("a split within the Balochistan Liberation Army in 2010 led by Mehran Marri, who holds British citizenship and founded the United Baloch Army... Al Jazeera Net, 01/02/2024") might suggest its efforts to establish influence within separatist groups in Balochistan. However, its influence remains negligible compared to America and India, as its influence has weakened significantly in India and Pakistan, where agents of America hold power.

Eighth: In summary of the above:

1. The ruling regime in Pakistan should have addressed the issue of Balochistan, which is part of its territory, with Shar'i care (Ri'ayah), with justice and kindness, and by utilizing public property in the lands of Balochistan for all the state's subjects, including the Baloch. But instead, it addressed the problem through security measures such as killing and arrests, and not with good care as in Islam:

الْإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَمَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ

"The Imam is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

2. Likewise, the armed organizations in Balochistan should not have allowed the enemies of Islam (America and India) to exploit them against their country, nor should they work for separation and partitioning the state. This is a grave matter in Islam, the perpetrator of which bears a great sin, for Muslims are one indivisible nation (Ummah):

إِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

"Indeed, this Ummah of yours is one Ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship Me." (QS. Al-Anbiya [21]: 92)

3. The third point, which is even more calamitous, is on one hand the Pakistani regime's loyalty (Muwalaat) to America and its implementation of its orders to be preoccupied with internal affairs instead of directing its forces to liberate Kashmir. On the other hand, there is the separatist organizations' recourse to the Kuffar and Mushrikeen for help. All of this is forbidden in Islam:

وَلَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلاً

"And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way [to triumph] over the believers." (QS. An-Nisa [4]: 141)

4. Nothing will restore the true bond of the people of Pakistan except the application of the rules of Islam and spreading the idea of true Islamic brotherhood, and applying the idea of equality among all Muslims in benefiting from the returns of public property such as gas, minerals, and others until injustice, poverty, and marginalization are lifted from the Muslim people of Balochistan and other Islamic peoples. Islam has discarded nationalist stirrings and strictly forbidden them, and made Muslims brothers:

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

"The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers and fear Allah that you may receive mercy." (QS. Al-Hujurat [49]: 10)

At the same time, this brotherhood of Islam must drive them to work with those working to establish their single state, the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate), the source of their unity, the cause of their glory, and the reality of their brotherhood. And that is the great success:

وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ

"And on that day the believers will rejoice * in the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful." (QS. Ar-Rum [30]: 4-5)

14 Rabi' al-Awwal 1446 AH 17/09/2024 CE