Baloch separatist violence has grown in scale and ambition, from the BLA's hijacking of the Jaffar Express in March 2025 to coordinated attacks across Balochistan, including Quetta and Gwadar, on 31 January 2026. Pakistan accuses the groups of operating from Afghan sanctuaries with foreign backing.
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The BLA claimed nearly a dozen coordinated attacks across Balochistan; authorities said 11 civilians, 10 security personnel and 67 militants were killed
BLA militants hijacked the Jaffar Express in the Bolan area; the army said 33 militants were killed and that 25 people, including four security personnel, died, after a roughly 30-hour siege
Balochistan hosts Gwadar, CPEC projects and the Reko Diq mine that US and other investors are eyeing, so insecurity there shapes investment and minerals cooperation. US designation of the BLA as a terrorist organisation has made the insurgency part of the bilateral counterterrorism agenda.
