The internal conflict in the neighbouring country Pakistan is not stopping. Recently, local militants in Balochistan carried out a major attack and targeted police station, railway line and highway, in which more than 70 people died. The militants also killed Punjabi travellers after asking for their identity. The Baloch Army has carried out target killings in the past as well.
On Monday morning, some armed fighters stopped trucks and buses passing through Musakhel district of Balochistan and made the passengers disembark. They checked their identity cards and then carried out target killings one by one. Apart from the army and police, 23 civilians, who were Punjabis, were killed in this attack. Later, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for this.
This is not the first incident in Balochistan
– In April this year, terrorists shot dead Punjabi travellers near Noshki town in Balochistan after checking their identity cards.
– Last October, six Punjabi labourers were killed in Kech district, which was considered a target killing by the local authorities themselves.
– In 2015, some gunmen attacked a labour camp near Turbat and killed 20 people, all of whom were from Punjab and Sindh.
Why do Baloch terrorists target Punjabis in Balochistan? The answer lies in the history of Pakistan. But before that, let us know who the Baloch are and why they remain agitated.
Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, where Baloch are in majority. These are the people who have their own language and culture. For a long time, Baloch have been demanding their own country separate from Pakistan. In other words, this is a kind of separatist movement, which is one of the many extremist movements flourishing in Pakistan. The people of this province adjacent to Afghanistan say that Pakistan has always discriminated against them.
Why do you want freedom
– Balochistan produces more than 40% of the country’s gas. This province is also rich in copper and gold. Pakistan takes advantage of this, but Balochistan’s economy remains poor.
– The language and culture of the Baloch people is different from the rest of Pakistan. They speak the Balochi language, while in Pakistan Urdu and Urdu-mixed Punjabi are used. The Balochis fear that Pakistan will eliminate their language as well, just as it has already tried to do with Bangladesh.
– Despite being the largest province, their place in Islamabad’s politics and military is negligible.
– The Pakistani government is accused of violating Baloch human rights. Baloch supporters often disappear or become victims of extra-judicial killings. According to an NGO Baloch Missing Persons, more than five thousand Baloch have gone missing between 2001 and 2017.
Which organizations are demanding separation
The voice of BLA is heard the most. Earlier they used to demand separation peacefully. In the last few decades, the movement has become violent. The Pakistan government has leased the mines situated in the Baloch region to the Chinese. Enraged by this, Baloch militants also carry out bomb blasts. Pakistan declared BLA a terrorist group in the year 2006 itself. Apart from this, there are many groups like Baloch Republican Army and Lashkar-e-Balochistan, which are demanding independence for Balochistan.
They are becoming increasingly violent over independence. The Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based NGO, released the ‘Pakistan Security Report 2023’ last year. It claims that Baloch insurgents, especially the BLA and BLF, carried out 78 attacks in the province last year, killing more than 80 and injuring 137 people.
BLA took responsibility for the latest attack and threatened that it could carry out more such attacks in the future.
Why are Punjabis being attacked?
The main reason for this is ethnic and cultural separation. The language and mannerisms of the Balochs, who are the majority in Balochistan, are different. They also wanted more attention in politics. However, this did not happen. Punjabis have dominated Pakistan since its formation. Anger began to grow due to ethnic differences in a country formed on the basis of religion. This is why Bangladesh was first formed and now there is a demand for Balochistan.
The dominance of Punjabis became the reason for anger
The second reason is economic discrimination and injustice against the Baloch. This is the largest but least populated part of Pakistan and has abundant natural resources. Despite this, the people here are poor. Baloch separatists say that the Punjabi-dominated country is taking all the benefits from them but is harming them. For example, if we take the China-supported Gwadar port, Pakistan got billions of dollars for it, but it could benefit the local economy of Balochistan very little. Instead of educated Balochi youth, Punjabi and Sindhi engineers were given jobs for this work.