CSS Current Affairs | Key Demands of Baloch Insurgent Groups

The following question of CSS Current Affairs is solved by Sadia Jabeen under the supervision of Howfiv’s Pakistan Affairs and Current Affairs Coaches. She learnt how to attempt 20 marks question and essay writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved past paper question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years, and uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.

Outline

1-Introduction

2- Major Baloch insurgent groups operating in the region

3- Current key demands of the Baloch insurgent groups

• ✓End to economic exploitation
• ✓Control over the natural resources of the region
• ✓Release of political prisoners
• ✓Cultural and social rights
• ✓Political autonomy and independence

4- Evolution of Baloch insurgent groups in the region

• ✓Tactical escalations
• ✓Consolidation of various Baloch insurgent groups
• ✓Cyberspace utilization
• ✓Resilience in the Insurgency

5-Possible solutions to control the situation

• ✓Political dialogues
• ✓Cultural and economic development
• ✓Human rights protection

6-Conclusion

Answer to the Question

1-Introduction

Balochistan is the southwestern province of Pakistan; it is the largest in the land but the least in population. Before the independence of Pakistan, it was an autonomous state of the Sub-continent that was forcibly annexed by the Pakistani forces on March 27, 1948, which created feelings of grievance among the Baloch people. Nevertheless, it is full of natural resources: gas, oil, coal, chromite, copper, gold, and many others; however, despite these natural resources, it is the least developed province in Pakistan. Besides the economic disparity, there is also political disenfranchisement in the province. Moreover, issues like cultural and social disparity, human rights violations, sectarian and ethnic violence, and terrorist and separatist activities have further made it an unstable region. Due to this socio-economic and political instability, many Baloch insurgent groups have arisen in the provinces that are carrying out insurgencies. The demands and activities of these Baloch insurgent groups, as mentioned above, are deeply rooted in the historical and socio-economic issues of the province, and to raise their voices, they attack security forces, check posts and infrastructure, and foreign employees working in the country. Pakistani security forces have been carrying out various operations to counter these insurgent groups, yet the groups have been evolving with the passage of time, creating more difficulties for the Pakistani state and security forces. In particular, if the insurgent groups continue to evolve and expand, they could pose serious implications to national integration; therefore, it is essential to solve the issues at the grass root level, which can be resolved through political dialogues, socio-economic development in the province and decentralization of power-sharing mechanism.  

2- Major Baloch insurgent groups operating in the region

A number of Baloch insurgent groups have been operating in the Balochistan region for various purposes; some of them are as follows: First, one of the most prominent groups is the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is involved in targeting infrastructure and security forces. Second is the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), which is involved in active guerrilla warfare; it wants the independence of Balochistan from Pakistan.The third group is the Baloch Republican Army (BRA); it has been involved in different attacks against the state’s national interests.The fourth group isthe United Baloch Army (UBA); it has also been involved in carrying out attacks and is a part of the ongoing insurgencies.The fifth and most important group isBaloch Raji Aajoi Saangar (BRAS), an umbrella organization that coordinates the activities of different Baloch insurgent groups. All these groups have been active in their resistance against the states of Pakistan and Iran for demanding greater autonomy, political rights for the Baloch people, and control over the natural resources of the region.

3- Current key demands of the Baloch insurgent groups

The demands of the Baloch insurgent groups have been deeply rooted in historical and socio-economic issues, which have been given below.

• ✓End to economic exploitation

The first demand of the insurgent groups is the end of the economic exploitation of Balochistan. They argue that the federal government uses the wealth of its resources, like natural gas and natural resources, and, in return, gives a minute portion of revenue to the Balochistan province, due to which the province lacks infrastructure, including roads, healthcare, and education, which is hindering its economic growth. Next, Baloch groups complain that the hired employees for the construction of CPEC projects are majorly Chinese, while the portion of Indigenous Baloch people is negligible. Because of all these reasons, Baloch militants have adopted the method of insurgencies to raise their voices about their demands.

• ✓Control over the natural resources of the region

Another demand of the Baloch insurgents is control over the natural resources of Balochistan. To illustrate, the natural gas of Sui has been supplied in all provinces of the country, but the province itself receives only a small percentage of gas; even the natives of the area are deprived of this natural resource. In addition to this, Chinese trailers have also been exploiting the fishing points, depriving local fishermen of their business. Therefore, BLA has been conducting attacks to assert their demand for control over resources because they believe that the region’s wealth is the right of the indigenous population.

• ✓Release of political prisoners

Baloch insurgent groups also demand the release of their political prisoners. For instance, hundreds of Baloch politicians, intellectuals and activists have been arrested and disappeared by the Pakistani security forces on the charge of sedition, treason, or terrorism. Many protests have been raised by the people, but the government has paid no heed to their voices. However, after the arrest of Gulzar Imam, one of the key leaders of the BNA, the Baloch insurgent groups have started insurgencies and attacks on the security forces to violently demand the release of their political prisoners and a stop to enforced disappearances.

• ✓Cultural and Social Rights

One more demand of Balochistan insurgent groups is cultural and social rights protection. If seen historically, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, approximately 4 million Pashtun refugees settled in the Balochistan province, which resulted in the marginalization of local people due to substantial demographic imbalance. Indeed, other than demographic imbalance, the new population also impacted the language, culture, and employment opportunities of the indigenous people; all these factors developed a sense of protectionism for culture and social rights among the Baloch population. Now in contemporary times, skilled workers are often imported from China and other provinces of Pakistan due to the shortage of skilled workers in the Balochistan province so that development and progress can be brought in the region; however, the local extremist groups feel fear that their cultural and social rights are again being eroded by state policies, so they have started insurgencies for demanding protection of their cultural and social rights.

• ✓Political Autonomy and Independence

Political autonomy and independence are more of a demand of Baloch insurgent groups. In fact, Balochistan was an autonomous state before the creation of Pakistan; it was forcibly annexed to Pakistan, which led to feelings of resentment and grievances among the Baloch people; the matter was suppressed with the passage of time, but the recent economic and political and human rights violations, mainly due to Chinese involvement, has incited the Baloch separatist groups to start insurgencies to demand political autonomy and independence from the state of Pakistan. For this purpose, BLF has been actively inciting insurgences against the Pakistani state to seek independence from Balochistan.

4- Evolution of Baloch insurgent groups in the region

Recently, the Baloch insurgent groups have evolved in many ways, some of which have been mentioned below.

• ✓Tactical Escalation

Now, Baloch militants have increased access to a modern and wider range of armaments that have not only increased their momentum but also escalated their tactics. In 2022, three incidents -the Shari Baloch case of killing three Chinese teachers, claiming BLA claiming responsibility for attacks outside the Karachi University and the attack on the Zaver Pear-Continental Hotel in Gawadar- pointed out the trend of escalating tactics of Baloch militants. This includes more organized attacks on security forces, including police and military bases and infrastructure. According to the Asia Pacific Journal, even in 2024, they attacked the security forces six times, which indicates an increase in their capabilities and planning.

• ✓Consolidation of various Baloch resurgent Groups

 Now, the trend of the consolidation of various Baloch resurgent groups has been observed, which can lead to a unified militant group. The insurgent groups collaborate under the umbrella of BRAS. This unification has been seen as a potential escalation of insurgencies in the southwestern region of Balochistan. This consolidation has made their movement exceptionally resilient, making it difficult for Pakistani security forces to extinguish their activities.

• ✓Cyberspace utilization

Another thing that points out the evolution of Baloch resurgent groups is the escalation of the use of cyberspace social media, such as X, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram and Instagram, for propaganda and recruitment. For instance, the Hakkal Media channel on Telegram is one of the most active mediums for the BLA to spread their videos and claim responsibility for attacks. They have been using various social media platforms for planning, data mining, coordinated attacks, spreading their messages, and broadcast attacks.

• ✓Resilience in the insurgency

Their evolution can also be observed in their resilience to the insurgencies. To illustrate, the arrest of Gluzar Imam has been considered a success in countering the insurgency campaign by Pakistan; however, the insurgencies have continued unabated. This indicates that the current wave of insurgency is resilient, lethal, and does not depend on a single charismatic leader, but it is driven by widespread grievances. The BLA attacked many towns across the province within a short time after the announcement of Imam’s arrest, which demonstrated the resilience and decentralized nature of the insurgency.

5-Possible solutions to control the situation

Solving the Baloch insurgency is a complicated issue that requires a multifaceted approach. Some possible solutions that can help in resolving the issues are given here.

• ✓Political dialogues

The government should arrange a sincere political dialogue with the Baloch leaders and insurgent groups to address the demands for control over resources and political autonomy. The issue of control over resources can be resolved through constitutional reforms over the power-sharing mechanism. A possible way to address this issue of political autonomy could be the decentralization of the governance mechanism. This would increase local control over administrative and fiscal matters, which would help address grievances over political disenfranchisement.

• ✓Cultural and economic development

The government must implement development programs, such as infrastructure development, healthcare, and education, to give benefits to the local population; it would help address the grievances related to economic exploitation. Moreover, Baloch culture and language must be promoted so that the fear of cultural exploitation can be addressed. For this purpose, Baloch cultural festivals can be arranged at provincial and national levels; it would increase the sense of nationalism and unity among Baloch people.

• ✓Human rights protections

The government must ensure the protection of human rights in Balochistan by ending enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and some other abuses. To achieve this purpose, the government must listen to the voice of protestors -protesting for the missing persons- and must conduct dialogue with them to solve the issue. In case someone is really involved in terrorist or separatist activities, he must be prosecuted according to law and not by any method that is against the judicial process. For instance, if any government official violates the fundamental right of free trial, he must be held accountable for his act.

6-Conclusion

The situation of peace and stability in Balochistan has been getting worse day by day because of recurrent insurgencies carried out by Baloch insurgent groups, due to which the socio-economic development and progress of the province have been affected badly. Baloch insurgent groups have been using attacking mechanisms to raise their demands for economic rights, socio-cultural rights, release of political prisoners, control over natural resources, and, above all, political autonomy. Pakistani security forces have also been facing more difficulty in countering the Baloch militant insurgencies because of their continuous evolution and expansion. But all hope is not lost; the state of Pakistan can overcome these challenges if pragmatic measures are taken. The state of Pakistan should focus on resolving the grievances of local people at the grassroots level rather than just focusing on carrying out security operations. In conclusion, the issue can be resolved by ensuring the politico-economic development of the province, ensuring human rights, and arranging dialogues with Baloch leaders, including insurgent groups. However, for the implementation of the given solutions, serious commitment and trust-building from all parties are required.

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