Pakistan Remains Global Polio Hotspot as Militant Threats, Misinformation Impede Eradication Efforts

Despite decades of global efforts, Polio continues to remain a hazardous health challenge and casts a vast shadow over the public health landscape in Pakistan. On the 14th of January 2025, the Regional Reference Laboratory fo...

Pakistan Struggles to Protect Chinese Interests Amidst Consistent Attacks

Over the night of October 6, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack took place outside Karachi airport, targeting a Chinese convoy. Two Chinese citizens were killed in the attack on a convoy carrying Chine...

Dozens Killed, Roads Paralyzed as Balochistan Faces Wave of Attacks

A coordinated wave of attacks swept across Balochistan on August 25, resulting in the loss of at least 53 lives, including civilians and 14 security personnel. In the ensuing counteroperations, security forces killed 21 milit...

Pakistan-Iran Trade; Challenges and Opportunities

On July 8 and 9, 2024, a meeting of the 11th Joint Border Trade Committee (JBTC) – a body of officials and the business community from Pakistan and Iran – was held in Zahedan, the capital city of the Iranian Sistan and Baluch...

Pakistan's New Visa Regime with Afghanistan Sparks Protests in Balochistan

In November last year, Pakistan National Apex Committee, a high-level government forum established in 2015 following the Peshawar Army Public School attack to oversee counter-terrorism efforts, decided to implement stricter b...

Balochistan Mining Tragedy: 11 Dead, Many More at Risk

A devastating gas leak in a coal mine in Sanjadi, on the outskirts of Quetta, Balochistan has claimed the lives of at least 11 miners on Monday. According to Shahid Rind spokesperson for the Balochistan government, the v...

A Troubled Province: Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Plagued by Protests and Violence

On Friday night, armed attackers stormed the Iranian port city of Chabahar in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. At the same time, the district guards of the country’s Rask City also came under attack. During the initial...

Coal Mining in Balochistan: A Tale of Exploitation, Insurgency, and Security

Despite its environmental impact, Pakistan is looking to increase its dependency on fossil fuels for energy production. To that end, Pakistan and China signed a US$62 billion bilateral infrastructure, energy, and connectivity...

BNA's Internal Rifts, Surrenders Signal a Turning Point in Insurgency Dynamics

Following the arrest of Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) founder Gulzar Imam alias Shamby in 2023, the militant group fractured into two factions, one led by Sarafaraz Bungulzai alias Mureed Baloch and another under Anwar alias ...

Baloch Armed Groups: Leadership Rifts and Accusations Amidst Changing Dynamics

In November last year, the Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) confirmed in a statement that one of the founding leaders, Gulzar Imam alias Shamby, had been captured by the Pakistani security forces.BNA was split right after Gulzar...