The BLA militancy has once again drawn sharp criticism after the group publicly claimed responsibility for killing Rasool Bakhsh Balwani Khetran, a resident of Barkhan in Balochistan. In a recent statement, the banned Balochistan Liberation Army accused Rasool of working as an “MI agent” for Pakistan’s military. The BLA claimed that he supplied intelligence which led to raids on militant hideouts and resulted in arrests and casualties.
If the BLA’s own statement is taken as true, it indirectly confirms that Pakistan’s counter-terror operations are based on solid intelligence. This undermines the repeated claims made by self-styled activists who accuse the state of carrying out blind, arbitrary raids and enforced disappearances. By admitting that militants were targeted based on Rasool’s tips, the group unintentionally legitimized Pakistan’s anti-terror strategy.
However, if the BLA’s allegations are false, then this too reveals the dangerous reality of BLA militancy. It exposes a brutal pattern where the group kills innocent Baloch civilians and fabricates charges to justify the murders. In either scenario, the outcome reflects poorly on the group’s so-called resistance narrative.
The BLA also referred to a so-called ‘Baloch National Court’ that allegedly tried Rasool in secrecy. But this shadow court had no witnesses, no legal process, and no moral foundation. Without any transparent judicial system, their claim of delivering a “sentence” is nothing more than cold-blooded murder. This is not justice. It’s an extrajudicial execution masked behind a fake title.
This incident further tears down the mask worn by BLA militancy. The group, which claims to fight for Baloch freedom, clearly eliminates any voice it suspects of opposing them. Even innocent civilians are not safe if they are perceived as working against the group. BLA militancy thus stands exposed—not as a freedom movement, but as an armed network enforcing silence and fear within its own community.
The death of Rasool Bakhsh, regardless of the BLA’s claims, is a reminder that the real victims of BLA militancy are often the very people the group claims to defend.
