Balochistan narrowly escaped a devastating terrorist attack due to timely intelligence and swift action by Pakistan’s security forces, revealing a deeply disturbing trend in the evolving tactics of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The arrest of Fareed son of Ijaz, alias Zagrain, from the Tejaban area of Kech district led investigators to uncover an advanced and carefully concealed suicide bombing plot involving the grooming of a woman for a martyrdom attack. During interrogation, Fareed confessed that a woman named Khair-un-Nisa, daughter of Abdul Waheed, had been prepared for a suicide mission and relocated to her uncle Javed’s house in Hub to avoid suspicion. Once the information was verified, security forces moved quickly, arresting Khair-un-Nisa along with her facilitator, Hani wife of Abdul Aziz, also a resident of Tejaban. Both women were shifted to a secure location, preventing what could have resulted in mass casualties and widespread trauma.

This was not an isolated episode but part of a dangerous and emerging pattern. Earlier failed attempts in Turbat and disrupted operations at the Kolpur check post had already hinted at the BLA’s intention to deploy women as suicide attackers. The latest arrests confirm that the group has not abandoned this strategy; instead, it has refined and embedded it within its operational planning. What is particularly alarming is the deliberate and systematic nature of this recruitment, where women are not incidental participants but carefully prepared instruments of violence.

Research from international security and academic institutions has long warned about this shift. Studies by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and other scholars show that militant groups under pressure often adapt by exploiting social blind spots. In deeply traditional societies, women are less likely to be viewed as........

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