Shazmah Fatima

On 31 January 2026, one of the most destructive insurgent operations in the recent past was carried out in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The attacks, dubbed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as Operation Herof 2.0, demonstrated the growing separatist insurgency in the resource-endowed province, which has long plagued the province. Insurgents attacked at least nine districts simultaneously, including the provincial capital, Quetta; the strategic port of Gwadar; and a few peripheral towns like Noshki, Mastung, Dalbandin, Kalat, Kharan, Pasni, Turbat, Tump, Buleda, Mangochar, Lasbela, Kech, and Awaran.

These barbaric attacks began at approximately 03:00 local time and lasted between ten and fifteen hours, during which numerous installations, including military bases, police stations, government offices, banking institutions, prisons, and civilian infrastructure, were targeted. BLA spokesperson publicly assumed responsibility in an official communiqué. This pluralistic nature indicates a high level of tactical planning beyond the traditional insurgent's original capabilities, suggesting augmented organisational capacity and external sustenance systems.

The attack strategy comprised suicide bombings, armed attacks, grenade attacks, and planned sieges. In other places, the insurgents took a temporary hold of government buildings and, in one case, released prisoners of a district jail, and in another, kidnapped high officials, such as a deputy district commissioner at Noshki.

The Human Cost

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - a communication wing of the Pakistan military, updated that fifteen security men and at least eighteen civilians were killed. ISPR also says that ninety-two militants were killed in the process of clearing. The military described the attacks as largely ineffective, with security forces stating that they had foiled attempts to seize any city or strategically located installation.

It is also alarming that insurgents are targeting civilians.  In Gwadar, the militants attacked a camp hosting migrant workers and killed eleven people: five men, three women, and three children. Such barbaric actions are not only killing the security personnel but also innocent workers.

Balochistan Insurgency

To understand Operation Herof 2.0, it is important to examine the historical grievances, deeply rooted in the past, that underlie the insurgency in Balochistan. The most sparsely populated and yet largest province in terms of territorial area, Pakistan has had to bear five major insurgencies since it gained its independence in 1947. The present stage, which emerged at the beginning of the twenty-first century, has its origins in longstanding complaints about political marginalisation, the exploitation of the mines, alleged human rights violations, and persistent development deficits. Some claim that enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and political instability characterise the insurgency in Balochistan. Such grievances are misused by insurgents who portray themselves as protectors of Baloch autonomy with the support of foreign hands.

It is hard to overestimate the strategic importance of Balochistan. The province borders Iran and Afghanistan, has the deep-sea port of Gwadar, which is also a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and boasts of vast reserves of natural gas, copper, and other minerals. Such geopolitical factors have transformed Balochistan from a marginal issue into a central focus of both Pakistan's internal security and regional power relations.

The Pakistan Response and the “Indian Hand”

India was alleged by both Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to have been aiding the BLA, and the ISPR of the military claimed that intelligence reports have unanimously claimed that the attacks were planned and coordinated by terrorist ringleaders who were based outside Pakistan.

In response, the Pakistani military conducted raids in different places across the province and killed 145 militants. Sarfraz Bugti, the provincial chief minister, claimed that troops responded swiftly to the attacks, killing 145 members of “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a phrase the government uses for the BLA. He further added that some of the terrorists are Afghan nationals who are trained by BLA and funded by India.  

Regional Dimensions and Strategic Implications

Operation Herof 2.0 has far-reaching strategic implications for Pakistan's internal security and regional stability. Firstly, the attacks show that despite decades of counter-insurgency efforts and a significant military formation, the Pakistani state has failed to impose a powerful authority over vast areas of Balochistan. The fact that insurgents can coordinate operations in different districts at the same time is a testimony to grave intelligence failures and lapses in the operations of the security architecture in Pakistan.

Secondly, the attacks on Gwadar and other regions connected to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor send Beijing an unmistakable message about the security threats posed by its flagship Belt and Road Initiative project. The attacks of the BLA in the past have been specifically against the Chinese nationals and CPEC-related infrastructure, which is evidence in the calculus of the group that works towards weakening Chinese interests, that it can compel Pakistan economically and diplomatically. Regional powers, especially India, are not comfortable with CPEC and the growing China-Pakistan strategic relations, hence using these insurgents to destabilise the Gwadar port region through such attacks.

Thirdly, the continued existence of the insurgency puts further strain on already poor relations between Pakistan and its neighbours, Iran and Afghanistan. Transit of militants, arms, and intelligence across borders has been an issue that has been replicated with Pakistan accusing the two neighbours of offering refuge to the rebels, accusations that Tehran and Kabul have refuted. Regional cooperation is necessary but politically fragile, given porous borders and tribal ties that cut across national boundaries.

A Conflict Without Resolution?

These attacks are not only a strategic shift in the long-standing insurgency in Balochistan but also a tactical one. The precision of the attacks, their geographic dispersion, and their duration are all indicators that insurgents have evolved. To Pakistan, what happened represents the factual constraints of a purely militaristic approach to facing a fundamentally political predicament that is built on historical animosity.

The advancement requires a comprehensive reconsideration of Pakistan's policy toward Balochistan. Military operations are not enough to overcome an insurgency that is fed by just grievances about the use of resources, political representation and human dignity. Positive engagement with Baloch political figures, accountability for human rights abuses, fair distribution of provincial funds, and genuine autonomy within Pakistan's federal structure are key components of a lasting solution.

The international community, particularly the states with a vested interest in the stability of Pakistan, must enhance positive dialogue and accountability as opposed to merely condoning counter-terrorism operations. Otherwise, the violence in Balochistan will continue to harm the provincial population significantly and negatively affect the unity of Pakistan.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of The Himalayan Research Institute Pakistan (THRIP)

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Shazmah Fatima is an independent researcher and a final-year International Relations student at Riphah International University, Pakistan. Her research focuses on international relations, global affairs, and governance, and she has experience in policy research and academic writing.