Islamabad, Pakistan – The security forces in the southwestern Baluchistan Province, Pakistani, say they have concluded a military operation against armed separatists who kidnapped Jaafar Expertes heading to Peshawar on Tuesday, Rescue 346 passengers.

The officials said that the army killed all the 33 attackers from the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA).

The train, which carries nearly 400 passengers, left Kuetta, the regional capital of Balochistan, in the morning when it was Bla fighters intercepted him Near a series of tunnels, about 160 km (100 miles).

The wing, General Ahmed Sharif, Director General of Public Relations of Services, confirmed the army’s media wing that 27 civilians – including the train driver – and a paramilitary soldier involved in the operation were also killed.

The state’s interior minister, Taltal Chaudhry, told Al -Jazeera that the fighters had used many hostages as “human shields”.

In recent years, BLA has greatly expanded the scale and the development of its operations – which conducted more than 150 attacks last year alone – reached its peak in the kidnapping of the last train.

But what is Bla, when it was created, and who are its leaders, what are the demands of the group, and how it managed to launch a battle with the state for several years?

Why is there a separatist movement in Balochistan?

Baluchistan – the largest province in Pakistan, is overcrowded – has a long history of marginalization.

The province was included by Pakistan in 1948, six months after it was divided from India in August 1947, and several separatist movements have witnessed since then.

A home to about 15 million Pakistan is estimated at 240 million people, according to the 2023 census, Balochistan is still the poorest region in the country despite being rich in natural resources such as coal, gold, copper and gas. These resources generate significant revenues for the federal government.

The boycott is also home to one of the main ports of the main seas in Pakistan in Jaddar, a decisive commercial corridor of the 62 billion -dollar China Economic Economic Corridor (CPEC), which aims to link southwest China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.

However, the Baluch nationalists claim that the Pakistani state neglected its people while exploiting the boycott resources, which led to separatist movements and armed rebellions.

When was Bla created, and what led to its formation?

Balochistan has witnessed at least five separatist uprisings since the formation of Pakistan in 1947.

The last wave began in the early first decade of the twentieth century, initially focused on securing a greater share of the boycott resources for its members, but soon escalated in complete independence calls.

With the increasing dissatisfaction with the state, Bla appeared in the late nineties and early first decade of the twentieth century. Analysts who study with the power resistance movements said that he was leading him with a cruel Mary, the son of the veteran national leader in Balush, deputies of goodness by Mary.

The rebellion was intensified in 2006 after the government was killed, during the era of military ruler, Bruise Musharraf, prominent national leader, Akbar Boujti.

Mary was also killed by a year later, and the government later banned Bla. Balsh Mary’s father, MPs Khair Baksh Mary, died in December 2014.

Over the years, Bla distinguished itself as a group committed to the complete independence of Baluchistan from Pakistan.

Unlike moderate national groups with the suspicion of the province’s autonomy, BLA has never followed the middle ground.

Malik Serraj is Akbar, a researcher specializing in the separatist Balush Movement, that although BLA’s primary demand for independent Baluchistan is still unchanged, its leadership, operational geography and strategies have evolved over time.

“Today, Bla is working with a significant effect from the Mary tribe. Instead, its leadership turned into the educated Baluch characters, many of which were one day part of the Baloch Student Organization (BSO).”

Who are the main leaders of BLA?

BLA took weapons against the Pakistani state because of what it considered “the ongoing adventures” of the federal government, which, as she claimed, undermines the real political, social and economic progress in the province.

The greatest notes that BLA was initially a very secret organization, but a major shift occurred when the leadership of the Mary’s tribal men moved to the Baluch leaders of the middle class.

“The new leadership showed a greater tendency to showcase its strength and capabilities in the media. Among them, the most prominent figures include Aslam Balush, who was later killed in 2018, and recently, Bashir Zaab, the former student leader of BSO,” added Akbar.

Fahd Nabil, who leads political geopolitical visions in Islamabad, says Bashir Zaab Balush is the current leader of BLA and was likely to be behind the kidnapping of Jafar Express.

Bashir Zayeb, in the mid -forties, belongs to the Nushki area of ​​Balochistan, which is 150 km (93 miles) south of Kuetta. He obtained a diploma from a multi -vertebral college in Kuwaiti.

“After the death of Aslam Balush in a bomb attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the group’s leadership moved to Bashir Zaab Balush,” Nabil told the island of the island.

In 2010, the group launched its suicide bomber team – Major General, who remained asleep for a few years and then appeared in 2018 when Aslam Balush was sent to target Chinese engineers working in the city of Baluchistan in Delvin. The attack was wounded by five people, including the three Chinese citizens, but there was no death, regardless of Ibn Aslam.

This has sparked a wider trend for Chinese citizens and facilities in recent years.

The Chinese consulate in Karachi attacked November 2018, a month before the death of Aslam Balush. Four people, including two policemen, were killed, while Chinese staff remained safe. The security forces managed to suppress the attack within an hour, killing the three attackers.

However, the greatest notes that the Bla’s Majeed brigade has gained really global attention when one of its suicide bombers, Shari Baloch, targeted Chinese citizens at Karachi University in 2022.

At least four people, including three Chinese citizens, were killed, after a 30 -year -old woman, who detonated a small bus outside the university’s Confucius Institute, and the Chinese and Cultural Center.

Nabil said: “While Bashir Zayeb presented the militants, his deputy, Hamal Rihan, provided Majid Liwa’s operations.”

Rehan is also in the mid -forties and believes he is a good learner, with leadership in several languages, including English, Urdu and Persian.

According to Nabil, a former Pakistani military official turned into an observer, Aishan Gul Balush, greatly strengthened the capabilities of the group.

The former military man in the early 1940s, who is also from Nushki. He graduated from the University of Peshawar, joined the Pakistani army in 2002, but within eight years, he decided to quit BLA and join him.

Nabil said, Rahman Gul Balush, helped the group to improve her “combat skills, which enabled her to move from the attacks that it runs into large -scale operations.”

How do the fighters recruit BLA?

Observers say that the greatest BLA power is its ability to recruit young soldiers who are studying well.

“Employment of educated young fighters is no longer a challenge, as the group is very popular with Balush’s youth, despite the controversial nature of its operations,” Akbar says.

He adds that despite the group’s responsibility for civilian deaths, including Balush citizens, and their use of female suicide bombers, these tactics have only caused limited criticism.

He added: “Instead, its attractiveness has grown among a young Balush, many of whom believe the armed struggle is the only way to keep their people.”

IMTIAZ Baloch, a researcher at Khorasan (TKD), a regional security platform, added that Bla was able to partially acquire sympathy among people because of the state’s “inefficiency”.

“The policies of the high -end state, bad governance, lack of accountability, and enforced disappearances have become a catalyst for gunmen to employ more sympathizers, including people who have high educational backgrounds such as professional information technology experts, data analysts, and other professionals, and thus expand their access and impact of social media.”

How does Bla finance its operations?

While Bla financing sources are still unclear, analysts suggest multiple revenue flows, including illegal activities such as blackmail, smuggling and drug trafficking.

The Pakistani government claims that India finances BLA, but the biggest, which says most Bla leadership is present in Pakistan after spending years in Afghanistan, says these assurances are difficult to accept at the nominal value.

He said: “Looking at Pakistan’s tendency to blame India in almost every issue, it is difficult to accept these allegations without strong evidence.” “If the government provides tangible evidence of Indian support, its accusations will be weight. However, what is clear is that BLA has a good supporter, and its fighters are receiving very professional training designed specifically for the rebellion.”

However, IMTiaz Baloch, based in Islamabad, from Khorsan’s memoirs, said that income is from the huge coal mines in Baluchistan Province is a major economic source of the group.

“The recent operations conducted by the separatist Baluch armed groups were very effective, as many American weapons were used. After their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, it was easy to buy [these] From the easiest boundaries, it shares with Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Nabil said that he believed most BLA leadership is working outside Iran and Afghanistan. He said that the group generates money from illegal activities ranging from drug smuggling to kidnapping people for ransom.

“Some of the Baluch Diaspora also provide financial support,” he said. “They are trained in Iran, Afghanistan and certain parts of Balochistan, while weapons are bought from the black markets operating in Iran and Afghanistan, along with the remaining American weapons.”

How do you build BLA narration?

Akbar said that the failure of governance and “dissatisfaction” with the provincial government helps Bla to increase its influence among the frustrated public.

“Many look at him [the provincial government] As it is more loyal to Islamabad more than the people of Baluchistan, especially because it refuses to take a position on critical issues such as enforced disappearance. “

Mohamed Shweib, an academic and security analyst at the University of Kwaid Asam in Islamabad, said that the group was able to publish its message using social media.

“I learned the art of staying in news and maintaining the state apparatus participating on multiple fronts. We told us the amount of attacks and facades that Bla’s employment is increasing and now can devote more resources and employees for operations.”

Nabil said that Bla has sharpened “advertising efforts” in recent years, and indicated that the media outlet in the group.It provides timely updates on armed activities and the spread of literature and combat videos to attract potential recruits. “