JAA, BLF, BLA: Who are the militant groups Iran, Pakistan have hit in cross-border strikes

  • January 19, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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JAA, BLF, BLA: Who are the militant groups Iran, Pakistan have hit in cross-border strikes

Subject :IR

Section: Places in news

Context:

  • Iran and Pakistan have carried out air attacks in each other’s territories, along their 909 km-long border.

More on news:

  • Missile strikes between Iran and Pakistan this week along with  attacks in the Red Sea  highlights the interconnected insecurities of the Subcontinent and the Gulf.
  • Iranian missiles and drones hit targets in Panjgur in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. 

About the attack:

  • Baloch minorities across Pakistan and Iran  are now targeted by Tehran and Rawalpindi.
  • The dissident groups are caught up in regional power politics between Arabs, Israelis and Iranians. 
  • The deepening conflict between Iran and its Arab neighbors on the one hand and Israel on the other breeds trans-border interventions.
  • Balochistan’s geopolitical location – at the mouth of the oil-rich Gulf also makes it part of the new great game.
  • “The Army of Justice” Jaish Al-Adl (JAA) emerged in 2012 from its older version Jandallah organization after its leader Abdolmalek Rigi was captured and executed by Iran.
    • It has the stated objective of securing recognition of Baluchi cultural, economic, and political rights from the Iranian government.
  • The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) was founded by Jumma Khan Marri in Damascus, Syria in 1964.
    • It was at the forefront of the Baloch insurgency in Iran in 1968-73 then in Pakistan in 1973-78. BLF re-emerged in 2004 under the leadership of Allah Nazar Baloch.
  • BLF is known to work closely with theBalochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which was founded around 2000.
    • BLA led  a violent struggle for Baloch self-determination in Pakistan in 2004.

Relationship since 1979:

  • Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, both countries(Iran and Pakistan) were firmly allied to the United States.
  • They had joined the Baghdad Pact in 1955 which  later became known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), a military alliance modeled on NATO.

India’s interests:

  • India has deployed ten warships to protect its interests.
  • India’s clear stand against terrorism and its close ties with Israel along with  deeper engagement with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are all new elements of New Delhi’s Middle East policy.

Areas in news:

Balochistan:

  • Balochistan  is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau’s far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline.
  • This arid region of desert and mountains is primarily populated by ethnic Baloch people.
  • The Balochistan region is split among three countries: Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  • It comprises of:
    • The Pakistani province of Balochistan, 
    • The Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and 
    • Southern areas of Afghanistan, which include Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Common Baloch ‘problem’:

  • The 909-km Iran-Pakistan border, known as the Goldsmith Line which stretches from a tripoint with Afghanistan to the northern Arabian Sea.
  • Roughly 9 million ethnic Baloch live on either side of the line i.e. in the Pakistani province of Balochistan and the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan. 
  • Another 500,000 live in the neighboring areas of Afghanistan in the north.

About Baloch people:

  • The Baloch  are a nomadic, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian Baloch language.
  • They are  native to the Balochistan region of South and Western Asia, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. 
  • There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighboring regions, including in Central Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula.
  • The majority of the Baloch people in Pakistan are Sunni Muslims, with 64.78% belonging to the Deobandi movement, 33.38% to the Barelvi movement, and 1.25% to the Ahl-i Hadith movement.
  • 800,000 Pakistani Balochis are estimated to follow the Zikri sect.
  • A small number of Balochs are non-Muslims, particularly in the Bugti clan which has Hindu and Sikh members.
  • There are Hindu Balochs in the Bugti, Marri, Rind, Bizenjo, Zehri, Mengal and other Baloch tribes.
  • The Bhagnaris are a Hindu Baloch community living in India who trace their origin to southern Balochistan but migrated to India during the Partition.
IR Who are the militant groups Iran