Global InformationBalochistan Liberation Army information
| Baloch Liberation Army | |
|---|---|
| بلۏچستان آجوییء لشکر | |
| Leader |
|
| Foundation | 2000 |
| Country |
|
| Motives | Secession of Balochistan from Pakistan[12] |
| Headquarters | Kandahar, Afghanistan (until 2021)[1][13] |
| Active regions |  Pakistan
|
| Ideology | Baloch nationalism Separatism[16] Secularism[17] |
| Major actions | Assassination, suicide bombing,[18][19] attacks against civilians and paramilitary forces,[20] kidnapping and ethnic cleansing[21][22][23] |
| Status | Active |
| Size | 600 (2020)[8][24] |
| Allies | State allies: India (alleged by Pakistan, but denied by India) Afghanistan |
| Opponents | State opponents: Pakistan China |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | Pakistan China[25] United Kingdom United States |
| Flag |  |
The Balochistan Liberation Army (Balochi: بلۏچستان آجوییء لشکر; abbreviated BLA, also known as the Baloch Liberation Army), is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant separatist organization based in Afghanistan.[21][22][23][26] BLA's first recorded activity was during the summer of 2000, after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on Pakistani authorities.[21][27] BLA is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan,[28] the United Kingdom,[29] and the United States.[30][31]
BLA operates mainly in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province, where it carries out attacks against the Pakistan Armed Forces, civilians and foreign nationals.[32][33]
- ^ a b "Baloch Separatist Leader Killed In Kandahar Attack: Reports". TOLOnews. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "'Mastermind' of Chinese consulate attack killed in Kandahar: BBC". The Express Tribune. 26 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "WHO IS 'BASHIR ZEB'? SUSPECTED MASTERMIND BEHIND PSX ATTACK". whenwherehow.pk. July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Balochistan Liberation Army Commander In Chief Basheer Zeb's Message To The Baloch Nation Asking For A general Mobilization Against Occupying Pakistan". Newscom. 13 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Top BLA commander killed in Afghanistan over 'financial dispute'". Pakistan Today. 22 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "BLA commander Razzaq Mandali alias Engineer was killed in Afghanistan". Proiqra. 22 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Profile: Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 August 2006.
- ^ a b University, © Stanford; Complaints, California 94305 Copyright. "MMP: Balochistan Liberation Army". cisac.fsi.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Pakistan hails US decision to declare Balochistan liberation army as a global terrorist group". Gulf News. 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Baloch separatist leader Harbiyar Marri among 13 booked for Chinese consulate attack". Dawn News. 24 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
Police officials suspected Harbiyar Marri, the exiled leader of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), of being the mastermind of the deadly assault that left two policemen and as many civilians dead.
- ^ "Balochistan Liberation Army". Violent Extremism Knowledge Base. Institute for the Study of Violent Groups. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013.
- ^ a b Bhattacherjee, Kallol (3 July 2019). "Explained: The Baloch Liberation Army". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Shah, Taimoor; Mashal, Mujib; ur-Rehman, Zia (27 December 2018). "Suicide Bombing Kills Pakistani Insurgent Wanted for Attack on Chinese". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "Pakistan: Fragile Sindh Order – Analysis". Eurasia Review. February 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Can Iran and Pakistan forge a new strategy to quell Balochistan unrest?". Frontline. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Rising Organized Political Violence in Balochistan: A Resurgence of Baloch Separatism?". 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Bhattacherjee, Kallol (3 July 2019). "Inclusion in U.S. terror list unjustified: Baloch Liberation Army". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "BLA claims responsibility for Balochistan suicide bombing". Daily Pakistan Global. 11 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "Why Balochistan Liberation Army, which targets Chinese interests in Pak, may have attacked Karachi stock exchange". The Indian Express. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "US declares Balochistan Liberation Army as terrorist group". Khaleej Times. 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Balochistan Liberation Army – Mapping Militant Organizations". web.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Some human rights organizations accuse the BLA of ethnic cleansing because on 15 April 2009 during an interview on AAJ TV, alleged leader Brahamdagh Khan Bugti urged separatist to kill any non-native Balochi residing in Balochistan which allegedly led to the deaths of 500 Non-Baloch in Balochistan.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan Keeps US-Pakistan In Interdependency Alive". The Citizen (India). 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
The BLA is based in Afghanistan and has been waging a violent armed struggle against Pakistan for the past decade and a half upholding the right of self-determination of the Baloch people and demanding the separation of Balochistan province from Pakistan, apart from being involved in ethnic-cleansing of non-Baloch minorities in Balochistan.
- ^ a b M.K. Bhadrakumar (5 July 2019). "Trump is Finished with the Afghan War". NewsClick. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "The Balochistan Liberation Army and insurgency in Pakistan's Balochistan Province". Intelligence Fusion. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
The numerical strength of the BLA is not clear, with estimates claiming that in the early 2000s after the group formed, there were approximately 6,000 fighters in the BLA. More recent estimates have suggested the total number of fighters is closer to 600.
- ^ Oxford, Analytica (2017). "China-Pakistan corridor security risks will increase". Expert Briefings. Emerald Expert Briefings. oxan–db (oxan–db). doi:10.1108/OXAN-DB227440. ISSN 2633-304X.
- ^ "US brands BLA as global terrorist group". Dawn News. 2 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ Butt, Qaiser (14 August 1947). "Heritage under attack: PkMAP says it views Ziarat Residency as a 'symbol of slavery' – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ "List of banned organisations in Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Office, Home (15 July 2016). PROSCRIBED TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS (PDF). Home Office. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "Terrorist Designations of Balochistan Liberation Army and Husain Ali Hazzima and Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Jundallah". U.S. Department of State. 2 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "US declares BLA as terrorist outfit". The Express Tribune. 2 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Gunmen attack hotel in Pakistan's Gwadar, kill five people". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Pakistan hotel attack gunmen shot dead". 12 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.