Dr. Naveed Elahi

On July 10, 2025, at least nine passengers traveling on two Punjab-bound buses were abducted and killed by armed assailants in the Sur-Dakai area along the Balochistan–Zhob–Loralai border. The bodies were later recovered and transported to Rakhni for return to their native towns in Punjab.

The terrorists of “Fitna al Hindustan” conducted coordinated attacks in Kakat, Mastung, and Sur-Dakai. They blocked the N-70 highway near Dab, boarded the coaches, verified passengers’ identities through CNICs, and forcibly removed 10 individuals—specifically targeting those with Punjab addresses.

Following the incident, security forces launched a large-scale search operation and temporarily suspended traffic on the highway. The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), a banned separatist outfit, claimed responsibility, stating they had blocked the Musakhail–Makhtar–Khajuri route and executed the kidnapped passengers.

It is an ominous scenario as over the last five years, Baloch insurgent groups—primarily the BLA, Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), and others—have intensified attacks on civilians in Balochistan, with a notable pattern of targeting non-Baloch ethnicities, particularly Punjabis. Scores of Punjabis, mostly labourers, have been confirmed killed in major incidents since 2020. An estimated 90,000 Punjabis have been displaced from Balochistan over the past decade. The trend should have been arrested through timely intelligence and effective security arrangements.

In March 2025 at least eight passengers were killed in two separate attacks in Balochistan. In the first incident, at least five passengers were killed after being offloaded from a bus by militants, and sprayed with bullets. The armed men checked the identification cards of the passengers before killing them. The deceased belonged to northeastern Punjab. Three Sindhi barbers were also killed inside their shops in Khuzdar.

The Pattern

On 26 August 2024, at least 23 Punjabi travelers were forcibly taken off buses and trucks and executed in Balochistan. The attackers confirmed their ethnic identity by checking the passengers’ ID cards and deliberately targeted Punjabis. This massacre was part of the Balochistan Liberation Army’s (BLA) “Operation Herof” — meaning “Black Storm” — a large-scale coordinated offensive across the province. The operation spanned 20 hours (August 25–26), involving 44 attacks across 13 districts.

Earlier, in May 2024, unidentified gunmen killed seven Punjabi individuals in the coastal city of Gwadar. All victims were barbers by profession. This was the fourth major incident targeting Punjabis in Balochistan during 2024. In April, the BLA had also claimed responsibility for the killing of nine Punjabis who were traveling from Quetta to Iran.

Between 2018 and 2022, the only confirmed killing of Punjabi civilians by Baloch insurgent groups occurred on May 4, 2018, when six individuals were murdered. No further Punjabi civilian fatalities were documented in public records throughout the remainder of that period.

In contrast, 2017 saw an estimated 23 Punjabi settlers killed. No such attacks were recorded in 2016. In earlier years, the death toll included six in 2015, 17 in 2014, 29 in 2013, 26 in 2012, 13 in 2011, 21 in 2010, 18 in 2009, and one in 2008. No incidents were reported in 2007 or 2006. While Punjabis have been the main targets of these attacks, other ethnic groups—such as Urdu-speaking residents from Karachi and Hindko-speaking settlers from Haripur District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)—have also been subjected to ethnically driven violence.

Who are these terrorists?

Balochistan has been experiencing a low-intensity insurgency for years, with various militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), officially referred to as “Fitna al Hindustan” due to its tentacles with the Indian Intelligence Agency RAW, actively operating in the region. Four major insurgent organizations are at the forefront of the ongoing violence and mayhem: the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). In addition, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is also active and hand in glove with the above insurgent groups. It is important to highlight that many criminal gangs operate across the province, engaging in a wide range of crimes, including drug trafficking, car theft, and kidnappings for ransom. These gangs also facilitate the activities of terrorists and insurgents.

Why they kill Punjabis and other ethnicities?

1. The terrorists find footholds to penetrate into the minds and hearts of the people at large by igniting their sentiments over sensitive issues. BLA and likes try to build this belief that Punjabis control military, political, and economic institutions and deprive the people of Balochistan therefore they are killing them.
2. They try to ignite perceived fears that the people from other provinces, especially Punjabis, who come to Balochistan, threaten their identity, economic opportunities and jobs. Even the CPEC infrastructure projects are portrayed in the same manner. The ethnonationalist propaganda is used to radicalize the Baloch youth by the groups like BLA through anti-settler narratives.
3. They also try to create a perception of military repression by a Punjabi-dominated security apparatus.
4. These attacks on non-Baloch civilians are also a tool to undermine federal presence and force demographic shifts.
5. The strategy is to provoke create hatred between the Balochis and Punjabis and trigger reaction from Punjab to justify their argument of dominance and exploitation of Balochis by the Punjabis.

Have the insurgents achieved their objectives through ethnic killing?

Besides creating fear and disconcert, which is always an objective of terrorists, the insurgents have not been able to achieve any of the above objectives through killing of the migrants from other provinces, especially the Punjabis. Especially the tactic to create hatred and attract reaction from Punjabis has not worked. Punjabis understand that Balochis are their Pakistani brethren and only the terrorists and insurgents are trying to create this wedge. Therefore, they have no resentment or reaction against the Balochis. The Balochis residing in Punjab and Sindh have faced not retaliation and hatred.

The number of Punjabis much greater than other ethnicities. They look for greener pastures in Pakistan and around the world. They keep going to Balochistan for economic opportunities which has not diminished due to BLA’s tactics. The federal presence and tangible demographic changes have also not taken place. Of course, a few thousand Punjabis have left the province due to the security reasons over years but no noticeable demographic shifts have taken place.

Why failure to control the ethnic killing?

 No doubt Security forces have been engaged in counter-insurgency operations, but these have often been criticized for human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, which further fuel resentment and recruitment into insurgent groups. These insurgent groups get support, funding and guidance from external forces, particularly India, who use them as their proxies to create unrest in Pakistan. 

Intelligence is the main tool against terrorism and insurgency. During these years, intelligence and law enforcement agencies should have infiltrated in them to dismantle these networks. It was expected that they would preempt and disrupt the major plots of these terrorist and insurgent elements. It appears that some segments of local population’s lack of trust in state institutions, including intelligence and law enforcement agencies, can hinder intelligence gathering and cooperation, making it difficult to infiltrate and dismantle insurgent networks. 

Geographical challenges are enormous in Balochistan as it is the largest province of Pakistan by area, with vast, remote, and sparsely populated regions that are difficult to monitor and control. The province shares long and porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, making it challenging to control the movement of insurgents and weapons. Conducting counter-terrorism operations in remote and difficult terrain poses significant logistical and operational challenges. Usually, the buses and transport plying in remote areas are attacked for kidnapping and killing. But over years this challenge related to vastness and remoteness of area should have been overcome.

Policy Recommendations

1. Protected Economic & Labor Zones

• Establish secure zones in high-risk districts (e.g., Khuzdar, Panjgur)
• Assign paramilitary protection to critical worker settlements

2. Community Policing & Tribal Liaison Units

• Recruit local Baloch youth into specialized policing roles
• Form Peace Committees with tribal elders to mediate tensions

3. Routes and Transport Security

• All buses plying between Punjab and Balochistan should give prior information of their movement to the police and levies
• Buses should move in caravan with adequate security arrangements like trained armed guards and escorts
• Buses should move in daylight

4.Counter-Narrative and Media Strategy

• Combat insurgent narratives through digital and cultural engagement
• Launch multilingual campaigns (Balochi, Brahui) to counter radical propaganda
• Promote examples of interethnic cooperation and shared development
• Punjabi-Blochi-Sindhi-Pushtoon Committees/ Associations should work for provincial harmony
• Rebuild trust through interethnic outreach and protection programs

5. Intelligence-Driven CT Operations

• Neutralize threats via targeted CT and community policing
• Enhance SIGINT/HUMINT capabilities in militant hotbeds
• Target insurgent financing, propaganda hubs, and safehouses

6. Legal Reforms & Witness Protection

• Fast-track trials for ethnic-based terrorism under updated anti-terror laws
• Introduce robust witness protection mechanisms

7. Support for Displaced Punjabi Families

• Federal compensation, relocation support, and trauma counseling
• Create a “Settler Rehabilitation Fund” for long-term assistance

8. Inclusive Development Framework

• Ensure equitable development and local political inclusion
• The Baloch conflict stems primarily from propaganda of socioeconomic deprivation. Business and job opportunities should be enhanced for Baloch people in Gwadar and CPEC projects.

9. Assimilation

• Many Baloch students are studying in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. More segments of Balochis should be encouraged to come to other parts of Pakistan which can facilitate assimilation and change in general sentiments and understanding of other communities in Balochistan.

Conclusion

The systematic targeting of Punjabi civilians by insurgents of “Fitna al Hindustan”, gives an image of inability of intelligence and security to protect people moving from one province to another. Protecting Punjabi civilians in Balochistan is essential not only for human rights but also for national unity, regional stability, and the success of economic corridors. A multi-layered, inclusive, and intelligence-backed approach is critical to reversing the current trajectory of ethnic violence. In light of above mentioned recommendations, immediate and long-term interventions are needed to ensure safety, rebuild trust, and restore security.

The author is Chief Editor of The Strategic Brief