The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has officially declared war against Baloch pro-independence armed groups, accusing them of attacking one of its major camps in Balochistan’s Mastung district, resulting in the death of nearly 30 of its fighters.
This announcement was made through a 36-minute video released on Sunday by ISKP’s media wing, Al-Azeem Foundation, in the Pashto language.
In the video, ISIS claims that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) carried out a large-scale assault on its fighters in Mastung about two months ago. The group alleges that it had previously maintained a non-aggressive stance toward Baloch insurgents, but now considers them enemies.
The video warns of “difficult and bloody days ahead,” stating that ISIS will respond to the Baloch armed groups and their supporters with the same intensity as it did against the Afghan Taliban.
ISKP also claims that it has training camps in the mountainous regions of Balochistan—an assertion previously echoed by Afghan Taliban representatives and affiliated media outlets.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has stated in the past that ISKP militants responsible for attacks in Afghanistan were trained in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. He linked ISIS’s presence to support from “certain secret agencies” within Pakistan.
According to Mujahid, the attackers behind the May 2024 Bamiyan bombing and the September 2024 Kabul explosion received training in Mastung.
Military analyst Aziz Stanikzai, commenting after those attacks, said that 95% of terrorist operations in Afghanistan are planned in Pakistan and only executed within Afghanistan.
At the end of the video, ISIS issues a chilling threat to civilians, warning them not to attend any gatherings or rallies organized by Baloch groups, stating these events would be their “primary targets in upcoming attacks.”
While ISIS has announced open hostility against Baloch armed factions, analysts believe ISKP faces significant obstacles in confronting them directly.
Groups like the BLA and BLF are known to have deep-rooted local support, vast networks, and effective operational capabilities in Balochistan. ISKP, by contrast, lacks both public support and manpower in the region.
However, analysts warn that the development poses a serious risk to Baloch rights groups, especially the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
The BYC has been actively protesting enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and state repression in Balochistan. Despite facing an intense state crackdown in recent months including arrests of senior members on charges of terrorism, sedition, and murder the BYC has continued to organize large-scale protests in Balochistan and Karachi.
