Recent coordinated attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) across twelve locations in Balochistan have intensified the province's long-simmering insurgency against Pakistani forces.

These strikes, spanning last Friday into the weekend, claimed the lives of at least ten security personnel, alongside fifty civilians and seventeen more troops in total. Balochistan's Chief Minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, appeared visibly distraught, even tearful, amid the chaos targeting police, security installations, and civilian infrastructure.

What captured global attention were images released by the BLA showing two female attackers, marking a stark evolution in the conflict. Previously viewed as a male-dominated tribal rebellion, the Baloch resistance now features women as frontline fighters and suicide bombers.

This shift stems from brutal Pakistani military repression, including enforced disappearances and economic exploitation, particularly tied to Chinese projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

One attacker, 24-year-old Asifa Mengal, joined the BLA's elite Majeed Brigade on her 21st birthday and became a fidayeen operative in January 2024. She targeted the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Nushki. Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, confirmed the involvement of female rebels in these assaults, underscoring their tactical impact.

A viral video further highlighted this trend, depicting a BLA woman fighter navigating a security forces' building with precision. Armed with a heavy weapon, she laughed alongside male comrades, mocking Islamabad's inability to counter the BLA. She justified her actions amid gunfire, smiling defiantly before resuming her assault, symbolising a new face of Baloch defiance.

This phenomenon is not isolated. The pattern of Baloch women embracing armed struggle dates back to the 2022 Karachi University bombing, where Shari Baloch, a 30-year-old mother of two holding a master's degree, detonated herself outside the Confucius Institute, killing three Chinese nationals and a driver. In June 2022, journalist Sumaiya Qalandrani Baloch attacked a military convoy in Turbat, following her fiancé's earlier suicide mission.

More recently, in early 2025, science graduate Banuk Mahikan Baloch struck a Frontier Corps vehicle in Kalat, killing one and injuring three, just before the Jaffar Express hijacking. These women hail from diverse, educated backgrounds, reflecting the insurgency's shift from tribal leadership to a middle-class, urban-driven movement.

The catalyst lies in Pakistan's iron-fisted response to Baloch dissent. Enforced disappearances have claimed over 5,000 lives since 2000, mostly men, according to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. With fathers, brothers, and husbands vanishing or dying, women—once sidelined—have stepped forward, channeling grief into action.

Pakistani political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow at King's College London, explains that women join insurgencies when desperation overtakes disappointment. Families endure loss without justice, met only by silence and impunity, transforming personal suffering into collective violence.

Cultural shifts amplify this. Yasmeen, wife of Majeed Brigade founder Aslam Baloch, urged women in 2019 to shatter patriarchal barriers, insisting liberation demands their participation. Unlike religiously hierarchical groups such as Hamas or the Houthis, the BLA's secular ethno-nationalism enables educated women to fight equally.

Strategically, female fighters evade Pakistan's focus on young men, inflicting maximum damage and fear, as noted by strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney. They target Chinese interests effectively, compensating for the BLA's resource constraints through sophisticated tactics.

Critics from Pakistan's establishment counter that the BLA exploits vulnerable women via propaganda, grievances, emotional manipulation, or blackmail. Analyst Michael Kugelman attributes the crisis to Islamabad's policy failures, which fuel recruitment by exploiting anti-state anger.

The toll is mounting. Baloch suicide bombings have killed at least 350 since 2011, with about fifteen linked to women. In 2024, 685 security personnel died, per the Centre for Research and Security Studies. 2025 marked Pakistan's deadliest year in over a decade, with conflict deaths surging 74%, straining the army amid multi-front battles, including against the Pakistani Taliban.

Divided across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan fronts, Pakistan faces relentless blows. Baloch women, from peaceful protesters like jailed activist Mahrang Baloch to armed Fidayeen, embody a resistance born of rage and resolve, vowing to free their motherland from perceived occupation.

Based On India Today Report