Pakistani internal security (catch all)

[davidbfpo]

A commentary by RUSI's Raffaello Pantucci on an event in August 2018, he starts with:

The attempted suicide bombing against a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan highlights the complexity of the security problems China faces in Pakistan. The attack was a rare suicide bombing for the Balochistan Liberation Army and was specifically targeting China. It showed how Beijing is finding itself dragged into a clash whose answer lies in the resolution of fundamental issues within Pakistan

Link:https://raffaellopantucci.com/2018/1...tructure-plan/

Then a headline from VoA: 'Pakistan Says Helping Tehran Rescue Kidnapped Iranian Forces' and a report that starts with:

Pakistan said Tuesday its military forces were working closely with those of neighboring Iran to locate more than a dozen Iranian security forces that militants kidnapped in a pre-dawn raid along the border. The announcement came hours after Tehran urged Islamabad to cooperate in securing freedom for 14 Iranian guards, including intelligence operatives.

Link:https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s...-/4615879.html

It is suspected those involved are the anti-Iranian faction that hide in Balochistan.

[davidbfpo]

Via Deutsche Welle website, Germany’s international broadcaster:

China consulate attack: Why Pakistan's Baloch separatists are against Beijing; The attack on a Chinese consulate in Karachi has raised concerns about the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Experts say it also highlights the opposition to China's economic projects in Baluchistan province.

Link:https://www.dw.com/en/china-consulat...ing/a-46424112

[davidbfpo]

From a "lurker" familiar with Pakistan.

The new Prime Minister, Imran Khan, is discovering that militancy on a variety of issues can no longer be "turned off" by their leaders at the behest or direction of the nation-state (or ISI). This is particularly so in the urban areas of the Punjab and can involve large numbers on the streets. Social media has a role of course.

[davidbfpo]

A short article from Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, which is almost a comedy. It starts with:

CALL it the Afghanisation of politics. You can guess what they don’t want, but you can’t really be certain about what they do want. And maybe it makes a kind of sense: you can’t ever be defeated if you never say what it is that you really want.

Link:https://www.dawn.com/news/1450345

I am not sure who 'they' are; the politicians, ISI and the Army?

[davidbfpo]

Via Twitter by @Roohan2Amhed:

Four commanders of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, including one of group's founding members Aslam Achu, have been killed in a suicide attack in Kandahar province of Afghanistan. The group has confirmed their deaths

Really a 'suicide bombing'? No, I suspect the "hidden hand" is over the border.

[davidbfpo]

First some context from an interview of Raffaello Pantucci, of RUSI, a SME on China:

In this scenario, how do you look at the insurgent attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi (in November 2018) for which Pakistan blamed India?That incident did not surprise me in the least. If you track recent incidents in Pakistan, there have been more and more direct attacks on Chinese interests in Pakistan by militant groups. We recently had an incident where a bomber of the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army) targeted a busload of Chinese engineers. The BLA has been very clear that they are targeting Chinese interests in the country. The accusations against India have a long history. The thing that worries me is that while it is impossible to say whether there is any merit to these accusations, what is certainly true is that there is a lot of anger in Balochistan, which has been there for a long time. What they have now realised is that attacking the Pakistani state hasn’t really delivered any results. They have realised that if we attack the foreigners we will get more attention internationally, and we are attacking the Pakistani state’s biggest ally; and that in itself might deliver some results for us. It is erroneous to blame this on India or Afghanistan, and it is impossible to know for sure if there are any elements from these countries lurking in the background, but what we can say for certain is that there is real anger in Balochistan, and it has now decided that targeting the Chinese gets some sort of a reaction.

Link:

From a 'Dawn' report:

Aslam Baloch alias Achhu, a key leader of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the mastermind of the recent attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, has been killed along with five other leaders of the organisation in a suicide attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Link:https://www.dawn.com/news/1453853

In a MENA online new site their report cites Malik Siraj Akbar, a Baloch journalist in Washington:

In the 1970s and ’80s, Pakistan used the Afghan mujahideen to harass and chase the Balochs, but this time it seems Pakistan hunted him down with the help of its Taliban proxies.

Link:https://www.thenational.ae/world/asi...istan-1.806996

Just how all the reports refer to a suicide bomber being responsible eludes me. How do they know? Who issued that story? I am no bomb expert, but the damage to the building is extensive - from the photo in the 'Dawn' report. Plus it looks like the building had concrete blocks around it to hinder VBIED. Why would the Taliban do this, presumably to assist their close friends ISI?

[davidbfpo]

An interesting article on the violent insurgency in Balochistan and from a critical Indian news website:

The important lesson drawn from the BLA’s recent botched moves is that armed action can achieve very little if it is not part of a coherent, well-crafted political strategy. Key to the Baloch strategy is inflicting pain on Beijing’s dramatic push into Balochistan......The only winner has been the Pakistan army.....In Balochistan, there have been too many players in the game: the State, the tribal leaders, the ‘enforcers’ employed by intelligence services, the armed forces and the Chinese.

Link:https://www.firstpost.com/world/balo...y-5963791.html