Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
. The group was formed on January 11, 2022, out of a merger of the
Baloch Republican Army
The Baloch Republican Army (BRA) ( ur, بلوچ ریپبلکن آرمی) was an armed militant group in Balochistan, Pakistan. It was believed to be militant wing of Baloch Republican Party. In September 2010, the Government of Pakistan banned t ...
(BRA), and the
United Baloch Army
United Baloch Army (UBA; ) was a militant group, fighting for the separation of Balochistan. The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Pakistani government. The government of Pakistan banned the group on 15 March 2013. The g ...
(UBA). BRA and UBA also announced their dissolution following the establishment of Baloch Nationalist Army.
Attacks
2022 Lahore Blast
On 20 January 2022, at least three people were killed and over 20 others injured by a
bombing
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, Pakistan. At 1:40pm, a 1.5
kilogram
The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
exploded on a motorcycle parked next to a pushcart outside a bank in a busy market chowk in the
Anarkali
Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...
area of the city. It broke windows of nearby buildings and set fire to several parked motorcycles. The attack was claimed on Twitter by a spokesman for the Baloch Nationalist Army.
The blast in Lahore was strongly condemned by leader of Baloch nationalist groups like
Mehran Marri
Mehran Marri ( ur, ) is the sixth son of Pakistani politician Khair Bakhsh Marri and the current leader of United Baloch Army (UBA) which is designated as terrorist organisation by Pakistan. The group is also classified as terrorist organisation ...
and
Brahumdagh Bugti
Brahamdagh Khan Bugti or Brahumdagh Khan Bugti ( ur, براہمدغ خان بگٹی) is the founder and leader of the Political Organisation Baloch Republican Party, a Baloch nationalist group which broke away from his uncle Talal Akbar Bugti's J ...
. The condemnation by the leaders of Nationalist group highlighted the clash between the leaders of terrorists groups aboard and by the fighters on ground.