{"id":39135,"date":"2025-03-13T19:09:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39135"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:34:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T10:04:50","slug":"balochistan-train-hijack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-03-2025\/balochistan-train-hijack","title":{"rendered":"Balochistan Train Hijack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) <\/strong>has claimed responsibility for hijacking the Jaffar Express.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Balochistan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is the <strong>largest <\/strong>but <strong>least populated of Pakistan\u2019s four provinces \u2013 <\/strong>Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethnic Groups: <\/strong>Baloch, Brahui, and Pashtuns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has <strong>substantial reserves of oil and gas, <\/strong>alongside gold and copper deposits, but has lagged in economic growth compared to other regions in the country.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The province has been the site of a series of insurgencies, brutal state repression, and an enduring <strong>Baloch nationalist movement since 1948.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d1c7a3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Balochistan.png\" alt=\"balochistan\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-39136\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d1c7a3; width:380px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Balochistan.png 600w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Balochistan-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Background of the Insurgency&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1947 Partition of Balochistan: <\/strong>The region was divided into four princely states: <strong>Kalat, Kharan, Las Bela, and Makaran.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During Partition, Kharan, Las Bela, and Makaran chose to join Pakistan, while<strong> Kalat opted for independence.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Treaty wit<\/strong><strong>h Muslim League:<\/strong> On August 11, 1947, Kalat signed a treaty with the Muslim League, recognizing its independence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>British Resistance:<\/strong> Despite recognition, the British issued a memorandum stating the Khan of Kalat was unprepared for international responsibilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pakistan Military Action: <\/strong>On March 26, 1948, the Pakistan Army moved into Baloch coastal regions (Pasni, Jiwani, Turbat).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Khan of Kalat had no choice but to agree to merge with Pakistan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ccc5bd\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"929\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/what-is-Balochistan-Liberation-Army.png\" alt=\"what is balochistan liberation army\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-39137\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ccc5bd; width:448px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/what-is-Balochistan-Liberation-Army.png 600w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/03\/what-is-Balochistan-Liberation-Army-194x300.png 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Insurgency and Discontent<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Forceful Integration: <\/strong>The annexation of Kalat into Pakistan led to discontent and resistance among the Baloch people.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many nationalists saw the integration as a betrayal of their autonomy and cultural identity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Insurgencies:<\/strong> Balochistan experienced numerous uprisings for independence, though Pakistan managed to suppress them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Current Status: <\/strong>Once a sovereign state, Balochistan is now the most neglected and poverty-stricken province of Pakistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite being the largest province and rich in minerals, Balochistan contributes only about 4% to Pakistan&#8217;s economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balochistan Liberation Army:<\/strong> The BLA are a Baloch ethnonationalist group who emerged in the 2000s with the aim of achieving independence for Balochistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pakistan banned the organisation in <strong>2006<\/strong>, and the United States designated it as a global terrorist organisation in <strong>2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Stand on Balochistan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Complex <\/strong><strong>Position: <\/strong>India&#8217;s stance on Balochistan is shaped by geopolitics, regional stability, and its relationship with Pakistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir makes any involvement in Balochistan a potential trigger for escalating tensions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support for Self-Determination: <\/strong>India supports the right to self-determination for Balochistan&#8217;s people but avoids interfering in Pakistan\u2019s internal affairs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall, India&#8217;s stance on Balochistan involves <strong>expressing concerns about human rights violations without interfering into the internal affairs<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-global\/pakistan-train-hijack-baloch-role-9881309\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for hijacking the Jaffar Express.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39135"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39302,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39135\/revisions\/39302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}