In the autumn of 2018, Punjab-bound Jaffar Express had narrowly escaped twin blasts after Baloch rebels attempted to blow up the passenger train using remote-controlled explosive devices. The devices had exploded when the train was about 200 feet away.
Tuesday’s attack isn’t an isolated incident. The train often carries personnel of Pakistani forces from Quetta to Punjab and vice versa, making it a hot target for groups like Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan). In 2023, the train was attacked twice in two months and at the same spot.
On Jan 19, at least 13 people were injured after a bomb blast derailed the train when it was passing through Bolan district, around 150 km away from Quetta. About a month later, another blast was reported on the train heading from Quetta to Peshawar, killing at least one passenger and injuring a dozen. In Nov last year, at least 26 persons were killed and over 40 were injured, including women and children, in an explosion at Quetta railway station.
For over 20 years, BLA has been waging a low-intensity insurgency in Balochistan, relying on traditional guerrilla tactics. However, a significant shift is being witnessed since 2018 as the group has begun employing suicide attacks and planned operations.
The first testament to this shift in strategy was seen in Aug 2018 when BLA attacked a bus carrying Chinese engineers. This marked the revival of BLA’s suicide bombing unit, Majeed Brigade, named after a BLA commander killed by Pak military in Quetta in 2010.
Since the 2018 attack, BLA has carried out over a dozen major suicide bombings in areas like Gwadar, Karachi, Turbat, Bolan, sending the Pak govt in a tizzy.
BLA has also launched an offensive against China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Last Oct, the Majeed Brigade carried out a ‘suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device’ attack targeting a Chinese convoy of engineers and investors departing from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The explosion resulted in around 50 deaths, including Chinese nationals and their security personnel. Bombings at Darul Uloom Haqqania aka ‘University of Jihad’ and killings of clerics like Mufti Shah Mir are recent examples.
In 2016, the military had established a “Special Security Division” to protect Chinese expansionist projects and target Baloch political and social activists. Mir was heading one of the death squads formed for this purpose. While BLA poses a significant challenge, it is not the only concern for the Pakistani govt. TTP has also escalated its offensive against Pakistan this year. Last week, over a dozen security personnel were killed in twin suicide bombing attacks at a military base in Bannu.