Yasma Baloch shot a smiling video of herself along with her newly married husband before heading for a suicidal mission. Soon after, she detonated herself in a coordinated BLA attack, killing multiple security personnel and civilians in a wave of assaults in Balochistan in January. "They shared a marriage before they shared a final stand," the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said in a statement. The photographs, which were reportedly edited, could possibly be part of a propaganda plan by Pakistani militants. But the question is real: Did Pakistan ignore women being used as weapons for so long against its rivals that it is now coming back to hit them hard?
Pakistan-based terror outfits have introduced a new and alarming dimension to their strategy: women fidayeen (suicide attackers). Terrorist groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have women-only wing to recruit terrorists and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) are increasingly drawing women into their ranks, projecting their participation as not just strategic expansion but also symbolic defiance.
From the BLA's use of a married couple to the JeM's announcement of a women-only wing, insurgent outfits appear to be widening their recruitment base. Security analysts have described this as a strategic shift of militancy into the 'home front'. Analysts say this is being used by the insurgency to show its growing reach into Pakistan's resourch-rich Balochistan province.
Of six suicide attackers in Pakistan in January, three were women…
There has been a visible shift in recent terror attacks with the participation of women. In January this year, there were three suicide bombers among six women, who took part in the coordinated wave of assaults that killed 58 people and brought parts of the province to a halt.
Junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry said that the inclusion of women strengthens recruitment in the insurgency that has been continuing for decades. "It gives them popularity and reach, and it impresses on their community that the fight has entered their homes," Reuters quoted him as saying.
Pearl Pandya of ACLED said that the trend showcases an ever expanding support base. "The ... insurgency's broader appeal ... has now gone beyond male-dominated tribal and feudal chiefs to include a wider cross-section of society," Pandya said.
Security officials point out that the BLA has simultaneously enhanced its operational capacity. "In South Asia today, the BLA is the most organised and lethal insurgent group," said Abdul Basit, pointing to the use of drone and satellite communication. Pakistan says that these groups have access to the weapons left behind after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Spokesperson Lt. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the armed forces "keep on seeing these weapons in the hands of the terrorists operating inside Pakistan".
After the January attacks, authorities recovered sophisticated weapons, while a couter-terrorism report warned that women's growing role in terror represented a "dangerous evolution in terrorist tactics".
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
