The Baloch Continuum – OpEd

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a civil rights organization in Balochistan, a part of Pakistan, has been actively involved in anti-state activism. Although the BYC claims to be a nonviolent political entity that advocates for rights and justice in Balochistan, this movement has been directly confronted by the Pakistani authorities as a proxy of separatist militant and criminal smuggling groups such as the criminal smuggling organizations of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). BLA is a separatist militant group in Balochistan that seeks instability in Pakistan. This group has been involved in violent operations targeting the military and government as well as Chinese workers in relation to the CPEC projects in the province. The BLA is a terrorist organization according to Pakistan and has been given the status of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States.

When analysing the discourse of the Pakistani authorities, particularly through the statements of the media wing of the army, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), it has been made clear that the BYC acts as a proxy for these militant organisations – with the BLA and along with smuggling groups at the back who fund them. It is always ironic that these militant insurgent groups never attack the cargo being smuggled through the border areas and only focus their efforts on destabilising the state infrastructure. The authorities have stated that the actions and demonstrations of the BYC are beneficial to the insurgent movement as they contribute to anti-state propaganda. The BYC is seen as an organisation as part of an insurgent movement.

BYC receives funding from mafia-like groups, particularly from areas near the Balochistan border, and many groups are linked to corrupt officials or political parties. There is often a blurring of the lines between mafia-like groups, terrorist groups, certain political institutions and political parties. In this case, they have a lot of power and can manipulate the prison system. These groups include: drug trafficking mafias that are involved in the transportation of opium, heroin and other illegal substances, with connections to the Afghan drug mafia. The province where trafficking is most prevalent is Balochistan, which also generates the largest share of revenue from this activity. The overwhelming majority of human trafficking cases in and out of Pakistan occur at the Balochistan border. Secondly, human trafficking networks continue their activities in smuggling people, particularly Afghan and Iranian migrants, through Balochistan province to the rest of Pakistan or other countries. Similarly, arms trafficking rings exist to supply illegal weapons and ammunition in Pakistan to these activist and militant groups, besides fuel trafficking rings smuggle subsidized Iranian fuel into Pakistan, taking advantage of the difference in fuel prices instead of channeling the revenue to finance these anti-state activist groups. In the same vein, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), the United Baloch Army (UBA), which is a faction of the BLA with a similar charter to liberate Balochistan from Pakistani soil and the Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) are believed to enjoy external support. Further, the terrorist group, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), affiliated with ISIS, has been carrying out attacks in Balochistan. These groups work hand in glove for the course of their own interests with intertwined issues shaped by local, regional and global factors.

Indian intervention in Balochistan is done through cross-border funding and support to anti-state activists and militant groups. For this purpose, India supports groups like BLA and other separatist groups financially and logistically to further its agenda of dismantling Pakistan. This support not only includes financial assistance in the form of funding the activities of these organizations but also assistance in setting up and supplying equipment to these groups, which has contributed to further instability in the region. This brings a geopolitical aspect to the conflict, where the interests of different geographical and political entities are crucial in motivating the insurgency and terrorism in Balochistan.

These mafia-style criminal trafficking groups have considerable power over law enforcement processes. Because of this influence, there are gang-controlled areas, making it harder for law enforcement to enter. Mafia-style groups and criminal networks engage in activities such as extortion, racketeering, and kidnapping. Local criminals also collaborate with foreign criminals in transnational criminal markets such as heroin and human trafficking, and Baloch insurgents are believed to have multiple transnational links.

These activist groups are closely linked to the terrorist groups and the organized criminal organizations and the latter helps in the financing, logistics, mobility and acquisition of weapons for the former. Both share some aspects in them, despite the different principles of vision. In order for these anti-state activists to flourish, they usually need strong financial support, which in this case is mainly obtained through criminal extortion and terrorism. Criminals, therefore, unlike terrorists, do not have any ideological preference, but they support the terrorist organizations financially because they work hand in hand for monetary benefits.

Furthermore, almost all militant activists and terrorist groups have media arms that help in spreading their message, especially in a post-terrorist attack environment. These two entities need each other’s services in pursuing their goals. They both share a common ground when it comes to money from criminal smugglers. Their main area of ​​contact is trade. The factors that support this relationship are globalization and information revolution. Another critical aspect in the work of a terrorist organization is seeking media attention and coverage.

It is quite obvious to note that crime and terrorism are interlinked as the two concepts are intertwined. No activist and terrorist group can carry out their acts without the realization of certain amounts of funding. Due to their daily operational needs, they have to deal with smugglers and the local organized criminal groups. Hiring such criminals helps terrorist groups to function and carry out their terrorist acts efficiently.

Therefore, Pakistan’s policymakers are working to change the existing laws, increase the tax net to remove the parallel black economy and crack down on counter-terrorism financing operations. One of the alliance partners is using terror tactics for operational necessity and the other is using criminal activities for similar necessity. This situation aligns the adversaries of the society and identifies organized criminals and terrorists as equals.