Pakistan Army launched Op Shaban this week amid coordinated militant attacks that killed 27 police officers in Mangi Dam area of Ziarat district and 11 Pakistani soldiers in Lasbela.
The violence began on 6 July when militants allegedly attacked a police outpost guarding the Mangi Dam construction site in Balochistan's mountainous Ziarat district.
BLA reiterates its demand for release of detained Baloch rebels in exchange for the captives. BLA’s 7-day ultimatum ends soon, after which the outfit has warned of executing them.
In a statement, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) called the attacks launch of 2nd phase of ‘Operation Herof’ under which they had carried out coordinated strikes in 2024 too.
Countering insurgency needs the Pakistan Army to demonstrate a political will that ties leaders at the centre with those in the borderlands. But it may not have the imagination.
US had earlier designated BLA as Specially Designated Global Terrorist group & has now upgraded it to Foreign Terrorist Organisation, adding its militant wing Majeed Brigade to SDGT separately.
Jaish ul-Adl, active in southeastern Iran, primarily in the Sistan and Balochistan provinces, called on the Baloch population from Pakistan to join in their fight against the Iranian regime.
ISKP sees Baloch separatists as secular, nationalists & pro-democracy—traits it calls ‘un-Islamic’. One analyst says Pakistan can ‘technically use IS against BLA’.
Speaking at ThePrint Off The Cuff, V Anantha Nageswaran, however, cautioned against assuming that the latest spike in prices would necessarily turn into a prolonged shock.
The deployment is part of Mission PÉGASE 26, France’s long-range air projection exercise, with four Rafales, three A330 MRTTs and two A400M Atlas aircraft taking part.
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