Balochistan rarely captures sustained international attention unless violence erupts. When it does, the province is often reduced to a narrow set of descriptions: Pakistan’s largest and poorest region, a mineral-rich hinterland plagued by insurgency, a security challenge to be contained. The latest wave of coordinated attacks across the province, including the fighting in the border town of Nushki, once again push Balochistan into spotlight. But it also exposes a deeper reality. This is not merely a law-and-order issue. It endures because history, geography, and a persistent deficit of trust between the state and the people continue to reinforce one another.

Balochistan covers 347000 square kilometers which equals 44 percent of Pakistan. The region has a large area which contains mountainous terrain and few inhabitants. The region has less than 15 million residents who occupy the deserts and mountain ranges and outlying valleys between Afghanistan and Iran. The province controls regional trade routes because its 760-kilometer Arabian Sea coastline starts from Gwadar port. The dry landscape of the region conceals Pakistan’s most important mineral resources which include copper and gold and coal and natural gas. These assets, however, have been both a promise and a curse.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) conducted its recent attacks followed its established pattern of conducting simultaneous assaults against police stations, Frontier Corps facilities banks, and civilian locations across multiple towns. The militants in Nushki seized control of security installations which triggered a three-day counterterrorism operation that used helicopters and drones together with army and........

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