KARACHI:
There has been a visible decline in high-profile and mass-casualty terrorist attacks in Balochistan, which is partly attributed to the major setback suffered by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) after two senior commanders of its suicide wing, the Majeed Brigade, were killed abroad under mysterious circumstances. The Express PK Press Club has learned.
Security analysts say the back-to-back kills have created a hole in the command and control structure of the BLA and blunted the operational margin of its allied network, the Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS).
Created in November 2019, the BRAS brings together Baloch terrorist groups – including the BLA and the BLF – created to pool resources necessary for suicide attacks and urban warfare against the state.
The BLA and other Baloch groups have been officially referred to as “Fitna al Hindustan” because the government claims they act as proxies for India, which wants to destabilize Pakistan through hybrid warfare.
Sources said Captain Rahman Gul, also known as Gul Rahman and Ustad Mureed, a senior commander of Majeed Brigade, was killed on September 17, 2025 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province after being targeted by unidentified gunmen in Sangin district. He was the last surviving member of the three-man ARM Command Council.
Described as one of the most dangerous figures in the BLA hierarchy by sources, Gul served as deputy commander of the Majeed Brigade, headed the BRAS suicide squad and was second in command within the BRAS leadership. He was the mastermind behind the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train in March 2025. Gul’s assassination was a major blow to the group’s strategic planning and suicide bombing infrastructure, sources added.
The second senior BLA commander to be eliminated was Jaafar, also known as Amin and Mulla Amin, who led the specially constituted ‘Fateh Squad’ of the Majeed Brigade, tasked with carrying out suicide attacks and urban warfare. He was killed in the third week of November 2025 in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Jaafar was targeted in a remote mountainous area while returning from a clandestine training site used to prepare suicide bombers, including agents trained to attack trains. He had taken charge of the Fateh squad after the murder of Rahman Gul.
Hailing from Balochistan’s Harnai district, Jaafar has been described by security analysts as a key operational planner playing a central role in coordinating high-impact urban attacks. His assassination, which occurred just after Gul’s death, further eroded the Majeed Brigade’s ability to mount coordinated suicide and guerrilla-style operations.
Security analysts said the elimination of the two commanders crippled the BLA’s network of suicide attacks and disrupted its cross-border operational structure, indicating growing pressure on militant leaders operating from hideouts outside Pakistan. Sources said sustained intelligence-led operations have reduced the operational space available to terrorist networks, thereby eroding their leadership, a trend reflected in the notable decline in terrorist activity across Balochistan.
The assassination of BLA commander Rahman Gul in Afghanistan adds to a growing body of evidence lending credence to Islamabad’s concerns that the neighboring country is being used by terrorist groups, particularly the TTP and BLA, as a launching pad for attacks against Pakistan.
Intelligence has confirmed that the BLA and other Baloch militant groups maintain a presence in Afghanistan, and that senior leaders are hiding in Kandahar and Kabul. Kandahar’s Ain-o-Mina area remains a key base, while Kabul terrorists are established in civilian localities such as Pul-e-Khishti and Wazir Akbar Khan, sources said.
Sources said the BLA training camps are located in Afghanistan’s Nimroz province, enabling cross-border movement between Iran and Pakistan. Two major operational bases located in the Naghai and Sangin areas of Helmand province continue to be used to launch attacks against Pakistan, posing a persistent security threat.
Sources further claimed that intelligence assessments revealed an expanding coordination network linking several terrorist groups, including TTP-Jamaatul Ahrar, Majeed Brigade and other transnational organizations. The network aims to carry out attacks in Balochistan as well as target Chinese interests associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to sources, meetings involving the Mullah Wafa Group of the TTP-Jamaatul Ahrar and the Majeed Brigade took place in Iran in 2024 and early 2025. In the months following these engagements, there was an upsurge in attacks against Chinese engineers and related interests in Pakistan.
Sources further said that in a meeting of the TTP Shura in early March, Jamaatul Ahrar was instructed to establish an operational presence in Balochistan and carry out terrorist activities in coordination with the Majeed Brigade. As part of the agreement, Jamaatul Ahrar agreed to fully cooperate with the BLA in attacks on CPEC projects and Chinese nationals, while refraining from publicly claiming responsibility for such incidents.
Sources have linked Jamaatul Ahrar – which had briefly split from the TTP – to planning the Basham terror attack on Chinese nationals in March 2024, saying preparations began even before the group officially joined the TTP. After his return, planning reportedly continued with the approval of TTP leader Noor Wali, with the decision taken to avoid using the TTP name and claim such attacks under the banner of Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP). Planning for the Basham attack was finalized in Kandahar, sources added.
Sources further revealed that Shaheen Baloch – who was previously linked to the Islamic State of Khorasan and BLA before joining Jamaatul Ahrar – had been appointed as the TTP’s Makran zone chief. He is said to have had contact with BLA terrorist Zamran Kundi and visited Iran several times in February 2024.
Shaheen Baloch also allegedly maintained direct contact with Mufti Burhan Swati Yousafzai, a senior Jamaatul Ahrar leader from Swat who was later appointed Central Naib Amir after the group’s reconciliation with the TTP. Burhan Swati reportedly visited Balochistan twice in February 2024, while Shaheen Baloch reportedly visited Kandahar to meet him.
Meanwhile, senior BLA leaders Nadeem Baloch and Hussain Dashti alias Rais Gachki – operating from Iran and Kandahar – held meetings with Jamaatul Ahrar leader Umar Makram Khorasani and his associates.
These engagements resulted in a formal agreement to share manpower, weapons and logistical support for terrorist operations in Balochistan. A coordinating committee was then created to facilitate cooperation between the two groups.
Following these developments, several meetings were said to have taken place in Balochistan. Sources said that as part of this plan, between 100 and 150 terrorists started infiltrating Balochistan from Afghanistan, with the first group entering the province on April 21, 2025.
