Recent coordinated attacks by separatists in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, and the military’s operations in response, have killed more than 250 people, underscoring renewed security risks just as the country prepares to pitch its mineral wealth to global investors.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for an independent Balochistan, stormed schools, banks and security installations in the province on Saturday. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s mouthpiece, said on Thursday the security operation launched against the group had ended the same day, leaving 216 militants dead, along with 36 civilians and 22 security personnel.
The BLA claimed hundreds of casualties among Pakistani security forces. The claim has not been independently verified.
The separatist group calls the attacks Herof (“black storm”) 2.0. It targeted several cities simultaneously, including Gwadar, a key hub for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and Pasni, home to a strategic naval base, and towns close to sites major mines such as Saindak and Reko Diq, among others. The first series of strikes, Herof 1.0, took place in Balochistan in 2024.
The BLA has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department and the government of Pakistan.
Imtiaz Baloch, a researcher who studies militancy in Balochistan, said the latest spate of attacks by BLA was more organized than past incidents: lethal and focused on creating chaos to demoralize security forces. “It has created a widespread impact in the province, particularly the BLA’s tactics of using both [men and women] not just for suicide attacks but for direct combat,” he told Nikkei Asia.
The attacks come as Pakistan hopes to showcase its mineral industry to global investors as an investment opportunity and driver of export-oriented economic growth. The government plans to hold an international minerals investment forum in April, with a primary focus on mining projects in Balochistan, including copper, gold and other resources. The event will bring together government officials, mining companies and financiers to highlight flagship projects such as Reko Diq.
Experts say the militant strikes jeopardize the already shaky confidence of international investors.
Imtiaz Gul, executive director at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, said no foreign investor will put their money in Pakistan in the current volatile conditions. In a number of South American and African countries, ore must be transported from mining areas where there is political unrest to processing facilities in safer places. “This has happened in the case of Saindak, and will probably be repeated in Reko Diq,” he told Nikkei.
Reko Diq, a big copper and gold mine in Balochistan, is estimated to have generated about $70 billion in net cash flow — project revenue after deducting capital spending and operating costs — over 37 years and is operated by Barrick Mining of Canada. Saindak, another copper and gold project in the same district, has operated for decades under lease by a Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC).
Barrick Mining’s CEO Mark Hill reportedly said in a postearnings call on Thursday that the company’s board is reviewing all aspects of a gold and copper project in Balochistan. “The Reko Diq copper-gold project continued to advance site works in Q4 [of 2025], although in light of a recent increase in security incidents, management is currently reviewing all aspects of the project,” a statement released by Barrick noted.
Experts say Pakistan needs to take concrete steps to reassure investors, given the security environment.
Khuram Iqbal, president of the Consortium for Asia Pacific and Eurasian Studies, another think tank in Islamabad, said that the current political dispensation of Balochistan suffers from a lack of legitimacy and popular support, alienating residents and leaving a vacuum that is filled by militants.
“The government should initiate a political process, isolate the radicals and engage those who seek to resolve issues,” he said. “Before acting against the informal economy, the government should create alternative avenues of economic engagement.”
Gul cautioned that there IS no quick and easy way to attract foreign investors to Pakistan generally, let alone Balochistan. “Until people’s affection for and trust in state institutions is restored as the primary condition for dealing with nonstate actors, no amount of security forces’ presence in the region will ensure peaceful conditions,” he said.
