It was 2:45 pm on 26 April 2022. Breaking news began flashing on television screens. And then it was there. The first woman suicide bomber had exploded in Karachi. The incident took place near the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi, where she detonated explosives as a van carrying Chinese academics approached the entrance. The attack, which killed three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army.

Later, the suicide bomber was identified as a 30-year-old Shari Baloch. She belonged to Niazar Abad in Turbat, Balochistan. She held an MEd, an MSc in zoology, and was pursuing an MPhil. She has had a stable government job as a schoolteacher since 2019. Reportedly, she had no financial issues, no missing persons cases, and no record of state persecution. Moreover, she had a son and a daughter.

Shari was married to a doctor, Hibtan Bashir. Investigations showed that he was an active member of the Majeed Brigade of the Balochistan Liberation Army and had not only recruited her but also pressured her into committing this heinous act. Reportedly, she was under the heavy influence of drugs and psychological manipulation.

Then, on 24 June 2023, Sumaiya Qalandrani blew herself up near a Frontier Corps convoy in Turbat. She was a 25-year-old born into the Qalandrani tribe in Khuzdar. Reports showed that her father was a Balochistan Liberation Army terrorist commander and that she had been raised with anti-state sentiment. Both sides of her family belonged to the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front. She remained active on social media, mainly romanticising the concept of a fidayee.

Since then, Mahal Baloch (August 2024), Ganjatoon (March 2025) and Zareena Rafiq Baloch (November 2025), all educated young women, have committed suicide bombings. In these incidents, one fact came to the fore. The........

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