War of independence from Pakistan, BLA lined up 20 people and shot them dead.

The demand for independence is gaining momentum in Balochistan, the most troubled region of Pakistan. Every day the Pakistani Army is facing tough competition from the insurgent groups on the soil of Balochistan. The most prominent face of this fight in Balochistan is the Baloch Liberation Army. In a recent horrific attack, gunmen killed more than 20 miners. Many Afghan citizens were also included in these. Actually, unidentified gunmen lined up miners in a small private coal mine in south-western Pakistan and shot them. At least 20 people were killed and seven injured in escalating violence in the restive region.

The early morning attack in the mineral-rich province of Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran, is the deadliest in weeks and comes days before the country is scheduled to host the summit of the Eurasian grouping Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It also comes as Islamabad is hosting a Saudi Arabian delegation exploring mining deals in the South Asian country that is trying to recover from an economic crisis.

According to the third quarter report (Q3) released by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the death toll will reach at least 1,534 in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to 1,523 in 2023. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been a hotbed of violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC projects. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been accusing the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil and mineral-rich Balochistan at the expense of local people, although the administration denies this. Earlier this week, two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 injured in a suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group targeting a convoy of Chinese workers near Pakistan’s busiest airport in Karachi.