A Profile of Bashir Zaib: The Radical Leader of the Baluch Liberation Army in Pakistan

A Profile of Bashir Zaib: The Radical Leader of the Baluch Liberation Army in Pakistan

Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan region has been experiencing bloodshed and a dramatic surge in attacks by Baluch separatist and nationalist militants seeking separation from Pakistan. There has been a series of well-organized ambushes and suicide attacks on law enforcement agencies and Chinese nationals inside and outside of the turbulent Baluchistan region since 2018 (Terrorism Monitor, May 20). As recently as September 26, the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed to have shot down a Pakistani military chopper and killed six army officials (Twitter/The Baluchistan Post, September 26). The Pakistani military confirmed the crash during a late-night mission in southwestern Baluchistan and acknowledged that all six soldiers perished, but without elaborating on the cause of the crash (Dawn, September 26). The chopper had initially been dispatched to rescue two officials who were taken hostage by the BLA (Twitter/TBPEnglish, September 26).

Earlier, another lethal attack by BLA occurred in April in the southern port of Karachi when a minibus was targeted by a female suicide bomber, who killed three Chinese citizens and their Pakistani driver (Dawn, April 26). And before then, in February, the BLA had launched two back-to-back suicide attacks in Baluchistan’s Panjgur and Nushki districts. The group claimed to have killed 195 soldiers, although this number was rejected by the Pakistani military (India Today, March 22).

Such organized and large-scale attacks demonstrate that Baluch insurgents, and especially the BLA, have become more lethal over time. They have changed their old tactics from hit-and-run operations to suicide bombings. But why is there such a dramatic change in tactics now, and what factor has specifically been behind the BLA’s increasing sophistication? Could it be due to a change in BLA leadership that placed Bashir Zaib at the group’s helm?

Who is Bashir Zaib?

The BLA’s new leader, Bashir Zaib, is a middle-class, calm, and well-spoken man in his forties. After Aslam Baluch, the former BLA supreme leader, was killed by a clandestine suicide bomber allegedly connected to Pakistani intelligence on December 25, 2018 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, Zaib was unanimously selected as BLA leader by the senior command council and operational core committee (Express Tribune, December 26, 2018; Baluchistan Times, December 25, 2018). After this, Zaib continued Aslam Baluch’s legacy and mission by strengthening BLA tactics and carrying out more killings and suicide bombings.

Zaib is the son of a doctor from Nushki, a town around 145 kilometers east of the Baluchistan provincial capital Quetta. He belongs to the Muhammad Hasni tribe, one of the largest tribes scattered throughout several districts of southern Baluchistan. After finishing his primary education requirements in Nushki, he completed his regular 12-year education at the Degree College in Quetta (Youtube/Baluch Audio Lyrics, April 25).

Following the completion of higher secondary schooling, Zaib was admitted to Polytechnic College in Quetta and earned a diploma in mechanical engineering. After this, Zaib secured admission to a master’s program in Baluch literature in 2008. While doing this, he also remained the chairman of the Baluch Students Organization (BSO) Azad (“Azad” means “Independence” in Urdu), which is a banned radical student organization that campaigns for Baluchistan’s separation from Pakistan (The Baluchistan Post, November 20, 2020). Zaib served as the BSO Azad chairman from 2008 to 2012. As a result, his admission into the University of Baluchistan was prohibited in 2008, and several raids were carried out at the university to arrest him. Zaib escaped all those raids, however (The Baluchistan Post, November 20, 2020; Hum Sub, April 27).

An intensive crackdown on BSO Azad led to its nation-wide ban in March 2013, but instead of solving the problem of radicalization, this triggered a new phase of militancy as many of its leaders, activists, and members were then forced to join Baluch armed movements. Zaib himself joined BLA in 2012, for example. He then inducted many of his friends into the BLA, whose feelings of alienation and marginalization drove them to militancy. Once led by tribal chieftains and feudal lords, today, the BLA comprises mainly middle-class former BSO Azad activists, doctors, engineers, and even ex-Pakistani army officials. Mr. Rehman Gul, a Pakistani army captain who now trains BLA’s suicide bombers, has led the group’s suicide wing called the Majeed Brigade and is the most well-known face of the BLA after Zaib (Terrorism Monitor, January 25, 2019; Hum Sub, April 27).

Zaib’s Motivations

Before joining BLA, Zaib could frequently be found in the provincial capital Quetta distributing anti-Pakistan literature that educated youth about the mineral-rich Baluchistan’s resources, which he would argue were being plundered and looted by Punjabis from Pakistan’s largest and most powerful province. He accordingly organized large political rallies, recruited new members for the banned BSO Azad, and mobilized fellow students to fight against the Pakistani State.

In 2010, the Pakistani military launched a major crackdown against BSO Azad, arresting and killing many of its members. Many of them were forced to go underground or join the armed struggle (The Baluchistan Post, November 20, 2020). BSO Azad’s activities were also kept off limits to journalists to maintain operational security, which also meant Zaib became somewhat of an enigma.

Much like his predecessor Aslam Baluch, and BLF founder Dr. Allah Nazar, Zaib actively uses social media to suffuse recruitment videos and warnings to China and Pakistan. Zaib has not shied away from recording and sharing these videos on social media, which increased his popular appeal. In a video message released in February, the former student leader warned of an intense “war against Pakistan” and invited Baluch youth to join the BLA (Newscomworld.com, Feb 13). He claimed that “today our resources are being auctioned off” and “unfortunately, someone gets up and asks for a share in the name of Baluch representation, asking for a percentage. Some say give us 25%; some say give us 50%. In history, when the conquerors have conquered an area, they occupied it and started looting, and today, it is still a part of [conquest], but its color is different” (Youtube/NewscomWorld, February 13).

Zaib’s leadership of the BLA has increased fears that the Baluch insurgency may become even more violent in the future. Since taking command of the group in 2018, several changes in the group’s tactics have been seen that Pakistani officials claim are linked to the current crisis in Afghanistan. These tactics include five suicide attacks under Zaib’s leadership (Twitter/KiyyaBaluch, April 27). There are further concerns in Pakistan that the West and India will use Baluch rebels as a proxy to aggravate the insurgency in Baluchistan and choke Chinese investment in the region. Zaib has also been urging the U.S, European Union, and India to help Baluch insurgents counter the Chinese presence in Pakistan via his video messages (Sangar Online, March 23, 2019).

Conclusion

Bashir Zaib is the latest breed of educated middle-class youth to join the Baluch insurgent movement. As Pakistan continues its crackdown on the BLA and other Baluch insurgent groups, there will, at best, only be temporary moments of peace in Baluchistan. Moreover, the security-centric approach will continue to increase resentment among Baluch youth and encourage more of them to join the ranks of militant groups like the BLA. Zaib will wisely exploit Islamabad’s non-political approach in dealing with the Baluchistan problem and will likely continue to adopt new tactics that will only make the BLA appear more radical.

Under Zaib, BLA seems to have become revitalized. Therefore, Pakistan will utilize all of its resources to kill or capture Zaib. It is yet to be seen, however, whether hunting down the top leadership matters in the long run as the organization appears to become more entrenched and lethal with each successive generation of leaders, as was seen in the aftermath of Aslam Baluch’s assassination. Zaib himself has also asserted that the insurgency will move forward even if he is not alive, saying “in terms of ideology, in terms of thought, in terms of morale, there is no shortage of Baluch youth” to continue the cause of Baluch separation from Pakistan (Youtube/NewscomWorld, February 13).