Fiery deserts, eternal snow, eternal earthquakes. Why Balochistan? In Iran most people are hanged. The nuclear tests are being carried out in Pakistan. “The place – they say here and there – where God threw all the rubbish of creation.”
A dumping ground of 15 million Baluchis who are as divided as they are hated in both Iran and Pakistan. A garbage can the size of France and rich in gold, gas, copper, but still very poor. A sewer that overlooks the sea and is therefore a junction of the Silk Road is tempting for the Chinese. A dross of history suddenly ignited in the great bonfire of the Middle East: two deaths in an Iranian attack on Pakistan's Balochistan on Tuesday; Yesterday, nine people were killed in a Pakistani bombing in Balochistan, Iran. A dangerous fire that Beijing and Moscow, the EU and the USA are trying to put out immediately: “We will not tolerate any escalation,” warns the White House. Even if the clash, comments American President Joe Biden, “shows that Iran is not very popular in this area”.
It is an ancient guerrilla war. At very low voltage. Which has lasted for 75 years and caused at least 27,000 deaths. “Baluch Watan”, the Baluchi nation, declares itself independent of everyone. Depressed since the time of the Shah, in revolt since the birth of Pakistan.
But why did the Ayatollahs attack now? A few hours before the military operation, Iranians and Pakistanis shook hands in Davos… And why did the generals in Islamabad react like that? They have always shared a porous 900 km border with the Iranians, allowing opium and terrorists to pass through… The facts show that Shia Iran attacked the Baloch bases in Pakistan, in Panjgur: Sunni groups that for fighting for the independence of Tehran grouped under the flags of the Jaa Army (Jaysh al-Adl).
This Jaa came from an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, in the past he tried to assassinate Iranian President Ahmadinejad and is on the US terror list. On the other hand, it is not the first time that Islamabad has come into conflict with its neighbor on the Baloch issue, but never like this: two days later, the separatists of the Balochistan Liberation Front, a non-religious acronym he is, meet in Saravan He uses suicide bombers, frequently attacks construction sites of Chinese companies and carried out 260 attacks in Pakistan in 2023 alone, killing 240 people.
So much for the facts. It is not lost on Iran that the BLF separatists have a government-in-exile in Jerusalem, are supported by Israel, and are funded by non-profit corporations in the United States. And that's not all: a month ago, the powerful Pakistani General Asim Munir met American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington – an approach to the USA – and the visit was heavily commented on by the Iranian media. Not to mention that the “ISIS” suicide bombers who claimed 90 lives in Iran arrived from Pakistan earlier this year. So, is the sudden attack on Islamabad and the BLF an anti-American and anti-Israel signal that hits Pakistan at a moment of great weakness? The vote takes place on February 8 and Islamabad's military arrives with a low popularity rating for imprisoning the highly popular former prime minister Imran Khan, in the middle of a crisis that has devalued the rupee by 40%. This new outbreak at the expense of the Baloch benefits both regimes. To the Ayatollahs who show that they are responding without hitting Israel. And to the Pakistanis reuniting their public opinion: is there anything better than finding a new enemy?