The situation in Balochistan province of Pakistan is witnessing a rise in terror activity during June. Balochistan is of vital interest for Chinese investment, being an integral part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Gwadar. The separatist organisations like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) often target Chinese and security installations in the province. In June, our monitoring team noted that separatists are constantly carrying out attacks on the regions close to N-40, a national highway connecting Pakistan to Iran.
The red line drawn on the map is the N-40, connecting the provincial capital of Balochistan, Quetta, to the Iranian border at Taftan
The monitoring data that the NSBRRI team collected from different media and local sources show that there were at least 16 incidents in which activities of the separatists occurred on the N-40 highway. Five incidents were reported in Mastung, ten in Noshki, and one in Dalbandin. The location Chagai shown on the map above has a Chinese gold mining project, the “Saindak Gold Copper Project”.
Trends and Pattern
No major terrorist attack was reported, but all the attacks focused on disrupting communications and cutting these regions off from the regional headquarters. Seven incidents were related to attacking the vehicles carrying minerals. More than a dozen such vehicles carrying minerals were set ablaze. The separatists were now found destroying bridges. Two of the bridges were targeted on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Our Assessment:
This concentration of terror activities on and around N-40 shows that the terrorists are trying to destabilise the region connecting Pakistan to Iran. There is another aspect to it, as the activities recorded are close to Chagai. Besides the Chinese presence, Chagai has a historic background. Pakistan carried out its nuclear test right here. It indicates their strategic preparation for a major attack so that the forces would take time and more resources to have a backup to counter the attack and the terrorists inflict maximum damage. In June, convoys of supplies to security forces often came under attack. Therefore, we foresee sever increase in attacks in July in Balochistan region.
