Balochistan News: Fissures In Pakistan Out In The Open ! BLA Kills Dozens of Pak Army Soldiers, Makes THIS Demand to Shehbaz Sharif

A shocking, violent attack by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Pakistani Army soldiers sent shock waves across Pakistan, brutally exposing the long-standing "fissures" in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province. 

BLA ripped apart dozens of Munir Sena soldiers

The separatist group claims to have killed dozens of Pakistani Army soldiers, a claim, if confirmed, that is one of the most sensational and violent attacks in recent years, underscoring the intensifying insurgency in the resource-rich but underdeveloped province, and posing a direct challenge to the military leadership under General Asif Munir

PM Shehbaz and Asim Munir receive ultimatum from BLA

The BLA statement, in combination with its claim of responsibility, also has a harsh ultimatum directed towards Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. While the precise subject of the "big demand" is still to be completely defined in initial coverage, such ultimatums by Baloch insurgent groups are typically targeted towards demands for greater autonomy in the province, local control over resources, a halt to alleged human rights abuses, or even independence for Balochistan. That said, such overt defiance of federal leadership is a dangerous new peak in the long-standing conflict.

Rising Conflict and Threats to Pakistan

The attack comes amidst an ongoing environment of violence and turbulence in Balochistan, where various separatist movements have been fighting an insurgency for decades. They accuse Islamabad of plundering the province's vast natural gas and mineral resources and ignoring its development, and suppressing its indigenous people. Such attacks have become more frequent and large-scale, subjecting Pakistan's security establishment to unimaginable pressure.

The attack is symptomatic of the high-tech security malaise of Pakistan, already suffering from economic crisis and political instability. The fact that the BLA was able to inflict such huge casualties raises questions about the success of the counterinsurgency operation in the province. The General Asif Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are now being tested to react to the immediate security problem as much as to the underlying causes of the insurgency. The world is observing closely as the "voice of freedom", as the insurgents have called it, continues to challenge the writ of the state in this province of strategic importance.