“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting” – Sun Tzu

The recent hijacking of the Jaffar Express on March 11, 2025 was unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who hijacked the train were more than just armed gunmen; they were suicide bombers seated among the passengers, waiting for orders to detonate.

The attack killed more than 30 people. Days later, on March 16, a suicide bomber from the BLA struck a military convoy in Naushki, killing security personnel and civilians.

Simultaneously, the banned outfit, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also escalated its insurgency, launching a series of attacks – the first in Bannu Cantt, killing 13 and injuring 32 and the second on an army post on the Afghan border which killed 7 army personnel.

These attacks are part of a rising wave of terrorism that saw over 2,500 deaths in 2024 alone, making it Pakistan’s deadliest year in nearly a decade. Furthermore, the Global Terrorism Index 2025 ranks Pakistan as the second most impacted country by terrorism, moving up two positions from fourth place in 2024.

Although the government has successfully countered these threats with an appropriate military response, a fundamental question remains unanswered: how are these outfits funding such sophisticated, high-profile attacks? Whether it’s a hijacked train, a coordinated ambush or a suicide bombing, all of these operations cannot occur without sufficient funds.

The BLA’s transition into a sophisticated, well-funded insurgency has raised questions about its sources of financing. Unlike its past constituency, the group now recruits educated, middle-class individuals, with access to modern financial tools.

With this renewed composition, BLA has expanded its operations and formed alliances with other separatist groups under BRAS, even forming new military units that aim to target infrastructure projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). These facts reiterate that the new war on terrorism isn’t just a military war; it’s a financial one as well.

The funding sources of BLA remain largely obscure,........

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