On the morning of March 11, 2025, the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express departed from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, on what should have been a routine journey across Pakistan. As it traversed the Bolan district, a rugged and sparsely populated mountain region, the train came under siege.
Fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) forced the train to a halt, unleashing gunfire that left several dead, including the train라이브 바카라 driver. With over 400 passengers on board, panic ensued as the militants took dozens of civilians and security personnel hostage.
For nearly 36 hours, a tense standoff played out between the separatists and Pakistani forces. By the time the operation ended, at least 33 militants and 25 hostages had lost their lives.
The scale of this attack marks a significant escalation in violence, but it is not an isolated event. The BLA is recognised as a terrorist group by countries including the United States, China, and the European Union, and in the last year alone, has been responsible for more than 150 attacks, targeting security forces, state infrastructure, and investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
At the heart of this insurgency is the group's longstanding demand for an independent Baloch state, separate from Pakistan.
This latest assault underscores the growing tensions in the region, tensions that are tied deeply to Balochistan itself—the country라이브 바카라 largest and least populous province, where grievances over political marginalization, economic exploitation, and military repression have fueled decades of unrest.
The History of Baloch Insurgency
According to a 2017 paper in the South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies, the Baloch people trace their origins to migrating Central Asian tribes, who eventually settled in the northwestern Iranian plateau before moving into present-day Balochistan.
Over time, these tribes consolidated into the Khanate of Kalat, which functioned as a semi-autonomous state until it was forcibly integrated into British India in 1839.
The British colonial administration weakened Baloch self-rule, using divide-and-rule policies to control tribal leaders while denying the region meaningful development.
After Pakistan라이브 바카라 formation in 1947, Balochistan was annexed in 1948 against the wishes of many Baloch leaders, who instead wanted an independent state. This resulted in five key uprisings.
The first Baloch insurgency erupted in 1948, led by Prince Abdul Karim, the brother of Kalat라이브 바카라 ruler, who opposed the region라이브 바카라 accession to Pakistan.
The second major conflict occurred in 1958-59, when Nawab Nauroz Khan took up arms against the One Unit policy, which reduced Baloch representation in the federal government. He and his supporters were arrested and later executed.
The third insurgency (1963–69) was marked by guerrilla warfare, as Sher Muhammad Marri led attacks and bombings on military infrastructure. The insurgents demanded a fair share of revenue from the Sui gas fields, but the government retaliated with military force.
In 1969, a ceasefire was reached and a year later, Pakistan라이브 바카라 president Yahya Khan abolished the One Unit Policy and recognized Balochistan as the fourth province of Pakistan.
The most significant conflict before the present-day insurgency occurred when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dismissed the Balochistan provincial government in 1973, triggering an armed rebellion. This fourth insurgency saw thousands of Marri and Mengal tribesmen engage in guerrilla warfare against Pakistani forces. The conflict resulted in thousands of casualties before it was eventually suppressed by 1977.
The current insurgency, which began in 2004, was reignited by a series of political and economic disputes, including the extraction of Balochistan라이브 바카라 natural resources, military operations in the province, and the construction of major infrastructure projects like CPEC and Gwadar Port.
The killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006, a prominent Baloch nationalist leader, further escalated hostilities.
The Conflict Today
Today, the BLA claim development in the region only serves the economic interests of Islamabad and Beijing, and expresses extreme discontent with the strengthening economic relationships between China and Pakistan.
This has driven the group to launch attacks on Chinese engineers, CPEC convoys, and diplomatic sites, including the 2018 assault on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi. The BLA has also expanded its military capabilities, employing tactics such as suicide bombings, urban warfare, and hostage-taking.
Despite Pakistan라이브 바카라 counterinsurgency efforts, including military operations and intelligence crackdowns, the BLA and other separatist groups continue to operate in the region. The Pakistani government has alleged that foreign actors, including India, fund Baloch militants, though the Indian government denies this.
With no political resolution in sight, Balochistan remains a flashpoint for separatist violence, posing a persistent challenge to Pakistan라이브 바카라 security and stability. The train hijacking in Bolan is only the latest chapter in a conflict decades in the making, one that will not be easily resolved through military action alone.
