Pakistani militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has released images and videos showing women fighters engaged in combat during the ongoing conflict with the country’s armed forces.
Formed in the early 2000s, the BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, citing political marginalization. (AFP)Meanwhile, BLA’s media wing Haqqal shared a video of a female “fidayeen” (‘self-sacrificing’) fighter participating in resistance to Pak troops as part of BLA’s Operation Herof II on the Gwadar front, news agency ANI reported.
The fighter, who is known as ‘Fidayi Hawa Baloch’ and goes by the alias Drooshum, is seen fighting with male fighters in the footage. According to an ANI report, the video shows what the BLA called his “final message” about twelve hours before he was killed in an encounter with Pakistani security forces.
Also Read | India slams Pakistan over Balochistan violence, blames it on ‘internal failure’
The BLA, in a separate announcement, introduced Asifa Mengal, another woman fighter associated with its Majeed Brigade.
Mengal, born on October 2, 2002, in Killi Qazi Abad, Noshki, is said to have joined the BLA on his 21st birthday in 2023, ANI sources said. He officially made his “retirement decision” in January 2024.
According to information provided by Haqqal on January 31, 2026, he reportedly carried out a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) operation targeting the headquarters of the Pakistani spy agency ISI in Nashki.
About 200 people have been killed in these clashes so far.
What is BLA? Why is there a conflict with Pak forces?The BLA is an armed separatist organization operating in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and launched Operation Hereof Phase II.
The BLA described the operation as a coordinated attack at multiple locations in Balochistan, indicating an increase in the group’s activities in the region, ANI reported.
Formed in the early 2000s, the BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, citing political marginalization, economic exploitation and human rights abuses by Pakistan.
The armed group conducts guerrilla-style attacks against Pakistani security forces and government infrastructure, including bombings, assassinations and sabotage, according to ANI.
Amidst the conflict in Balochistan, kidnappings, forced abductions and targeted abductions have also increased in the region.
