While Pakistan continues its futile drone and missile attacks targeting Indian civilians and military installations along the eastern front, it faces a growing rebellion within. In Balochistan, at least three Baloch insurgent groups have intensified their offensive, reportedly seizing control of parts of the province. Clashes between rebel forces and Pakistani security personnel are escalating, with calls for Baloch independence growing stronger. Social media is now flooded with images and videos of Baloch fighters pulling down Pakistan’s flag and raising their own in defiance.
Baloch pro-independence groups launched coordinated assaults on Pakistani security forces and their installations across Balochistan on May 8, as reported by credible news outlets and social media sources.
These strikes mark a sharp escalation in the ongoing insurgency, with momentum building over the past week. The timing is notable, as the Islamabad-Rawalpindi establishment remains preoccupied with responding to India’s recent counter-terror operations under Operation Sindoor.
Baloch freedom fighters launched an attack on Pakistani forces in Quetta’s Faizabad area on May 9, according to sources. In a separate incident, security forces in Islamabad came under a hand grenade attack at a military camp in Sibbi.
Baloch groups have escalated their offensive to the point where Pakistani security forces faced at least four separate attacks by “unidentified armed assailants” in Quetta, the provincial capital, on May 8. According to Balochistan-based Radio Zrumbesh English, the city witnessed multiple explosions and intense gunfire throughout the day.
On May 8, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) freedom fighters carried out six coordinated attacks targeting the Pakistani Army and its collaborators in Kech, Mastung, and Kachi, according to Radio Zrumbesh English.
Amid the escalating unrest, Baloch writer Mir Yar Baloch posted on X: “Baloch people have started hoisting their own flags and removing Pakistani ones. It’s time for the world to relocate diplomatic missions from Pakistan to the emerging nation of Balochistan. Farewell to Pakistan, welcome to Balochistan.”
This wave of attacks follows a stark warning from former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who recently admitted that the federal government and military are steadily losing control over Balochistan—particularly after nightfall. He added that even senior officials and ministers now require security escorts to travel within the province and openly questioned Army Chief Asim Munir’s downplaying of the scale of the rebellion.
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) fighters intensified their campaign against Pakistani forces on May 8 with multiple attacks across Balochistan. In Dashtuk, Kech District, a remote-controlled IED targeted a bomb disposal squad, killing one soldier instantly.
In a separate assault, BLA fighters opened fire with automatic weapons on a Pakistani army outpost in Katgan, also in Kech, reportedly resulting in multiple casualties, according to journalist Bahot Baluch, citing BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch. Additionally, IED blasts were reported in the Sah Dem area of Zamuran, striking army personnel and supply vehicles and causing further fatalities.
These incidents followed a string of coordinated attacks on Wednesday, where Pakistan’s critical infrastructure—including gas pipelines and resource transport vehicles—was targeted. Three pro-independence Baloch armed groups claimed responsibility, according to The Balochistan Post.
That same day, two IEDs struck security forces and a military convoy in Kech’s Zamuran region. Baloch writer Mir Yar Baloch also claimed that the freedom fighters attacked gas fields in Dera Bugti, a region hosting over 100 gas wells managed by state-owned Pakistan Petroleum Limited.
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