Cross-border air strikes spark tensions between Iran and Pakistan
A diplomatic crisis has been triggered by militant groups Jaish Al Adl and the Baloch Liberation Army
Two lesser-known militant groups on the Pakistani-Iranian border are at the heart of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries following retaliatory air strikes on each other’s territory.
On Tuesday, Iran struck targets inside Pakistan, in the border province of Balochistan.
Tehran said it had hit bases belonging to the Sunni militant group Jaish Al Adl, which it blames for a series of attacks in its south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Pakistan condemned the strikes as a breach of its sovereignty and said that they had killed women and children.
In retaliation, Pakistan launched air strikes against what it called “terrorist separatist groups” in Iran. Those strikes killed at least nine people.
The Baloch Liberation Army confirmed that strikes had killed some of its members and warned that Pakistan would “pay a price”.
“Now the Baloch Liberation Army will not remain silent.
“We will avenge it and we announce war on the state of Pakistan,” it said.
The strikes have jeopardised relations between Iran and Pakistan and threatened to cause another escalation in the region amid the continuing Israel-Gaza war and clashes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Both militant groups are comprised primarily of members of the Baloch ethnic group, known as Balochs.
There are thought to be around 6.8 million Balochs in Pakistan, and about 2 million in Iran. There is also a sizeable population of Balochs across the Gulf in Oman.
The Balochi language is spoken by about 9 million people.
Most Balochs live in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan and the neighbouring Pakistani province of Balochistan.
Both provinces are large and sparsely populated, with a desert climate and mountainous terrain. The area is rich in precious metals, including gold, and is home to large natural gasfields.
Some Balochs in these provinces have campaigned for either more autonomy from Iran and Pakistan or an independent state.
They say that the central governments of Iran and Pakistan have neglected the Balochs and deprived them of social and political rights.
Baloch nationalists also accuse the Pakistani government of exploiting the rich mineral wealth of Balochistan without fairly compensating those who live there.
Some nationalists have taken up arms, waging a series of low-level insurgencies against the Pakistani government since the creation of the country in 1947.
Pakistani security forces have attempted to crack down on insurgents. Hundreds of Balochs have protested in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in recent weeks, accusing security forces of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Across the border in Iran, Balochs have also fought against the government for greater autonomy or independence.
Most Balochs are Sunni, and some of the fighting in the region has witnessed sectarian attacks against Shiites.
Shiite-majority Iran is ruled by a theological regime, while about 10-15 per cent of Sunni-majority Pakistan is Shiite. Two militant Baloch nationalist groups were the target of the recent strikes: Jaish Al Adl and the Baloch Liberation Army.
Jaish Al Adl is a Baloch nationalist Sunni militant group.
The group is made up of ethnic Balochs fighting for the independence of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
It is considered a terrorist organisation by Iran and the US among others.
Jaish Al Adl was founded in 2012, primarily by members from another militant group, Jundullah, which was weakened after Iranian security forces arrested many of its members and executed its founder Abdolmalek Rigi in 2010.
After ISIS captured Mosul in Iraq in 2014, Jundullah pledged allegiance to it.
The group has carried out attacks in Iran, but Iranian officials say it has bases across the border in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government denies that Jaish Al Adl has an organised presence in the country, but has acknowledged militants may be hiding in remote areas. The group has frequently attacked Iranian security forces near the Pakistani border, and its members are believed to travel across the Iran-Pakistan border despite efforts to set up checkpoints.
In 2019, Jaish Al Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on the Khash – Zahedan road in Sistan and Baluchestan province that killed 27 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It has carried out other attacks against Iranian security forces in the province.
A policeman was recently killed in an attack by the group on a checkpoint in Rask County, Iranian media reported.
The Baloch Liberation Army is one of the most prominent armed separatist groups in Balochistan.
It campaigns for complete independence from Pakistan.
The BLA was designated as a terrorist group by the US in 2019, in a decision welcomed by Pakistan. The group rejected the announcement at the time, calling it “beyond comprehension and unjustified”.
Last year, the group attacked Chinese engineers working at the port of Gwadar in the province.
The Pakistani government denies that Jaish Al Adl has an organised presence in the country