BY: Alok Bansal
Security Analyst, New Delhi
e-mail: neemaalok-AT-gmail.com

The killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti has shifted the world focus to the happenings in Balochistan, where a low level but extensive insurgency spearheaded by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has been going on for few years. The Pakistani government had denied the existence of such an organisation till 2004 when there was a bomb blast in Quetta. Reports indicate that Nawabzada Balaach Marri, the Moscow-educated son of Nawabzada Marri, is leading the latest insurgency. Marri tribesmen are believed to comprise the backbone of BLA whose strength has been bolstered by members from other tribes. The organisation aims to carve out a greater, independent 'Balochistan', incorporating land in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

The insurgents realise that Baloch are a miniscule minority within Pakistan and do not have the numbers to take on the Army in a frontal attack and their most potent weapons are the hostile arid mountainous terrain and local support, which are ideal for asymmetric warfare. They have also tried to expand the arena of conflict by instigating other nationalists against the federation. The acceptance of responsibility for the Hyderabad bomb blast last year by an outfit called Sindh Liberation Front is an indicator of things to come. After the incident at Sui, where a Sindhi lady doctor was raped, Late Nawab Bugti with the purpose of instigating Sindhis had stated, "The Sindhis should have raised their voice more than us against the rape but they are, unfortunately, silent." He further went on to say, "No Sindhi has raised his voice against the rape. Sorry to say, I don't appeal to dead people". These were clever statements meant to instigate street protests in Sindh.

The security forces are neither familiar with the terrain nor comfortable with the climate of Balochistan and rely on the tenuous communication links with other provinces for their sustenance. The insurgent therefore mainly target communication links and developmental activity besides Pakistanis and foreigners involved in major projects. They have attacked electricity pylons, electrical sub stations, telephone exchanges, gas pipelines and railway line. In 2005, according to official data, there were 187 bomb blasts, 275 rocket attacks, 8 attacks on gas pipelines, 36 attacks on electricity-transmission lines and 19 explosions on railway lines. In carrying out these attacks the aim has not been to kill civilian population but to disrupt the communication links of the state with the rest of Pakistan and to damage the infrastructure. They have also targeted economic activities in the province. Coal mining operations in the province have been especially targeted as they are perceived as exploitation of Baloch resources by outsiders. Some of these attacks have also been carried out in areas adjoining but outside Balochistan. In addition stray attacks have been carried out on government buildings and cantonments to gain publicity, while carrying out such attacks in the cities, there has been no attempt to save lives but to create a psychological impact on the agents of state, to dissuade them from serving the state effectively. Some attacks like targeting of General Musharraf and Chinese nationals were the high profile acts carried out with the aim of getting publicity.

Barring the two incidents in Sui and Dera Bugti, where tribesmen dug in to face the troops, insurgents have generally avoided taking on the security forces head on except when forced by the security forces, like in the recent operations in Kohlu. The weapons used have been rockets, mortars, bombs and grenades besides improvised explosive devices. The targets have been selected carefully and the appropriate weapons have been used. The insurgents seem to have a stockpile of weapons as not only have they been firing rockets at will but have also indicated a willingness to dig in and fight whenever confronted, thereby indicating availability of adequate reserves. They have also been prompt in taking credit for the acts of violence. BLA spokesmen have been prompt in contacting media and propagating their views. They have invariably claimed that they would continue their struggle for securing the rights of the Baloch nation and have expressed grief over the collateral civilian casualties. Their actions indicate a very high level of understanding of military craft especially psychological operations.

The insurgents have even been able to attack the main gas pipeline in the heart of Punjab near Pattoki. They have indicated that the fire ignited in Balochistan is spreading, thereby broadening the scope of the conflict as well as its toll. BLA and its allies are now challenging the writ of the state in areas where it has not been too soft and at the same time testing their ground. The fact that they are fighting the state and not the people is evident by the choice of their targets, for example gas pipelines that cause public panic as well as register their capacity to strike. The purpose does not seem to kill but to only hurt.

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