Terrorism has no justification whatsoever. Use of violence to kill or persecute another human being is something that no civilised society must ever tolerate. Yet one cannot isolate terrorists from the social-political milieu under which they operate. This is because one’s understanding of their surroundings and the grudges that forced them to pick up arms can go a long way in securing a lasting peace.
It is with this intent that the Baloch Liberation Army that has hijacked an entire train in Pakistan must be approached. The whole world watched them as they took hundreds of civilians as well as military personnel hostage. Now the Pakistani military operation against them may have ended with a large number of casualties on both sides. But where did it all begin?
The BLA or the Baloch Liberation Army is a terror outfit that mainly operates in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. It was first established in the year 2000 with an aim to secure independence from Pakistan and has since targeted military personnel, sometimes even civilians as well as foreign nationals to achieve its goal. It rose to prominence in the 2000s only when it started carrying out certain high-profile attacks to secure international attention.
In 2013, it was involved in abduction and killing of bus passengers in Balochistan, half of whom belonged to the Pakistani security forces. In fact, Jaffar Express, the train which they have hijacked this time around, is one of their regular targets. In the past also there have been many attacks and blasts targeting this train that runs between Quetta in Balochistan and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/train-hijack-is-a-ghastly-reminder-of-how-baloch-are-a-victim-of-pakistans-exclusionary-politics-2-13871397.html.
