New Delhi: A suicide explosion that hit a Pakistani military convoy in Turbat, in the southern region of Balochistan, on January 3, 2025, was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). The BLA called the incident a “Fidayee” strike, a phrase used to describe suicide missions, and stated that 47 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the bombing.
The Pakistani military has failed to confirm the number of casualties to conceal the severity of the attack, despite the BLA’s high claims. This has raised questions about the government’s transparency over the strike and its aftermath. This quiet and hesitancy to provide precise death tolls are in line with a concerning trend in Pakistan’s response to past acts of terrorism, especially when they entail delicate national security issues.
Early on January 3, a bomber broke into a convoy of Pakistani military trucks passing through Turbat, launching the attack. According to reports, the explosion resulted in catastrophic damages. Immediately claiming responsibility, the BLA, a well-known insurgent organisation that supports Balochistan’s independence, said the attack was a response to Pakistan’s continuous military actions against Baloch separatists and accused the Pakistani government of stifling the Baloch population and abusing the region’s resources.
There has been ongoing instability in the resource-rich but underdeveloped province of Balochistan as ethnic Baloch separatists call for more autonomy from the national government. Due to the Pakistani military’s harsh response to these demands, the conflict has grown more violent over time.
Although the attack was confirmed, the Pakistani military has been hesitant to disclose the incident’s entire scope, including the number of casualties. As stated by the BLA, the explosion claimed the lives of 47 troops. If these numbers are correct, it would be one of the most deadly attacks on the Pakistani army in the recent past. However, Pakistani authorities have not disclosed the precise number of people killed in the incident, and official reports have not supported these figures.
This hesitation to reveal all the information on the Turbat bombing is not a new phenomenon. For minimizing the actual costs of terrorist strikes, particularly those involving military losses or delicate geopolitical situations, Pakistan has been under fire for years. The 2021 attack on a Chinese bus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dasu region served as a stark illustration of this. At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed in the blast, which the Pakistani government first labelled as an “accident.”
But as the inquiry into the incident started, Pakistan was compelled to accept that the explosion was an attack against Chinese workers who were part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. This change in tone brought attention to the Pakistani government’s propensity to downplay or hide the seriousness of such events, especially when foreigners or politically delicate subjects are at stake.
Regarding the Turbat attack, Pakistan’s prior handling of high-profile terrorist attacks is reflected in the secrecy surrounding the attack’s overall impact and the number of casualties. Lack of clarity regarding the attack puts Pakistan at risk of creating mistrust about its accountability and transparency in handling such incidents both at home and abroad.
The way the Turbat incident’s casualties were handled is also a reminder of what happened following the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India, in 2019. More than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed in that incident by a suicide bomber from the extremist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan. Pakistan was under tremendous international pressure to confront the role of extremist groups operating within its borders, even though it did not formally claim responsibility for the attack.
Like the Turbat bombing, Pakistan first played down the attack’s gravity in order to deny involvement or minimize the incident’s human cost. Pakistan’s unwillingness to face the facts of the violence taking place inside its borders, whether it includes internal insurgencies like the separatist struggle in Balochistan or foreign conflicts, is concerning given this trend of underreporting and denial.
In Balochistan, where ethnic Baloch rebels have been fighting the Pakistani government violently for decades, the Turbat blast serves as a sobering reminder of the ongoing warfare. A hotspot of separatist activity, Balochistan is a country rich in natural riches but plagued by pervasive poverty and underdevelopment. The BLA and other militant organizations desire more autonomy or complete independence from Pakistan, claiming that the federal government is abusing Balochistan’s resources.
The majority of Pakistan’s response to these rebel organisations has been military, with regular operations meant to quell Baloch nationalist sentiments. Despite ongoing military efforts to control the insurgency, the Baloch separatists remain resilient, as evidenced by the scale and coordination of the Turbat attack.
The region has become more violent and unstable as a result of Pakistan’s military reaction, which has mostly concentrated on suppression rather than tackling the root causes of the conflict.
Efforts to address the underlying causes of violence in Balochistan are further hampered by the persistent underreporting of casualties and the denial of terrorist acts. Pakistan runs the danger of alienating its own people as well as the international world by neglecting to offer precise and understandable information regarding the effects of such assaults. Finding answers to the underlying political and social problems that feed the insurgency and comprehending the actual extent of the bloodshed depend heavily on transparency.
The Baloch people feel oppressed and alienated, and Pakistan is unable to address their complaints because of its unwillingness to have an open discussion about the nature of these attacks. Military power alone will not end the Balochistan insurgency because it is fueled by a complex interplay of political, economic, and ethnic forces. Long-term peace requires an all-encompassing strategy that acknowledges Balochistan’s right to self-determination, distributes resources and engages in political discourse.
Deep divisions inside Pakistan, especially in Balochistan, where calls for independence continue to deepen violence and instability, are tragically brought to light by the Turbat incident. Pakistan will continue to be caught in a vicious cycle of violence, denial, and mistrust as long as it minimizes the scope of terrorist attacks and ignores the real costs of war. Finding a long-term solution to the region’s numerous conflicts will continue to be hampered by Pakistan’s unwillingness to face the realities of terrorism and insurgency inside the country or its terror activities on foreign land, whether in Turbat, Dasu, or Pulwama.
In August 2024 Baloch people allegedly said that the government in Pakistan is not ready to come to the table for negotiations when an activist group Baloch-Yakjehti- committee demanded restoration of internet and network services in Makran region including Gwadar before any further negotiations take place. According to the activist groups this shows the Pakistan government’s evasive approach to address the ground realities squarely in Baloch region. Although the future is still unclear, it is obvious that peace can only be attained by sincere dialogue and acknowledgement of the people’s complaints.
