Pakistan's Airstrikes on Baloch Liberation Front Escalate Regional Tensions

The strikes highlight the strategic importance of Balochistan, a key location in China's Belt and Road initiative and a region marked by longstanding conflict and human rights concerns.

• Pakistan has carried out airstrikes against the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) in Iran, escalating tensions in the region.
• The BLF, which seeks independence for Pakistan's western province of Balochistan, has been accused of targeting gas projects, infrastructure, security posts, and occasionally Chinese workers in Pakistan.
• Balochistan is a key location in China's multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative, and is home to untapped mineral wealth including the Reko Diq mine, one of the world's largest underdeveloped sites for copper and gold.
• Allegations of human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan have fueled conflict for decades.
• The recent airstrikes underscore the transnational nature of the conflict, with the involvement of Iran and potential backing of Baloch militant groups by external actors such as India further complicating the situation.

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