The attack on Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove's convoy in Mastung on Pakistan's Independence Day has once again highlighted the deteriorating security situation in the country's largest province.
Langove escaped unharmed when his convoy came under fire after he returned from an event in Kalat. At least six people, including three police personnel, were injured in the attack.
The incident is the latest in a long series of attacks linked to the separatist insurgency in Balochistan. But alongside the violence, fresh allegations have raised a more fundamental question: how much control does Pakistan's civilian government actually exercise across the province?
A Pakistani journalist has alleged that some Balochistan politicians pay bhatta, or extortion money, to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) to operate in certain areas.
Separately, a report citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency has alleged that Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies use armed groups, including former Afghan military personnel, against pro-independence Baloch groups.
These allegations have not been independently verified.
ATTACK ON BALOCHISTAN HOME MINISTER RENEWS SECURITY QUESTIONS
Langove's convoy was attacked in Mastung district on August 14 while he was returning from an Independence Day event in Kalat.
The minister was not injured, but several people accompanying him were hurt.
Mastung has witnessed repeated attacks in recent years. In July, a sessions judge and his security guard were killed in an ambush in the district.
The latest attack comes against the backdrop of continuing violence by Baloch separatist groups, particularly the BLA.
Over the past few years, the BLA has carried out coordinated attacks targeting security installations, government facilities, infrastructure and other locations across Balochistan.
Pakistani security forces have responded with large-scale counterinsurgency operations, but the continued attacks suggest that the security situation remains unstable.
ARE BALOCHISTAN POLITICIANS PAYING ‘BHATTA’ TO THE BLA?
Pakistani journalist Muzamal Suharwardy has made a broader allegation about the province's political system.
During a discussion with political analyst and journalist Raza Rumi, Suharwardy referred to former Balochistan minister Abdul Rehman Khetran and alleged that he had paid bhatta to the BLA.
Suharwardy also attributed a broader claim to Khetran that people operating in certain parts of the province could not function without paying extortion to the separatist group.
The allegation has not been independently corroborated.
Khetran himself had alleged in October 2024 that the BLA was collecting extortion from coal-mine owners in Balochistan. According to reports at the time, he claimed mine owners were being charged Rs 500 per tonne of coal, with millions of rupees allegedly being collected each day.
However, Khetran's removal from the provincial cabinet in July was officially not linked to any alleged payment to the BLA. Reports instead attributed his removal to political and administrative differences with Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.
This distinction is important because the allegation that ministers themselves pay extortion remains unproven.
WHO REALLY CONTROLS PARTS OF BALOCHISTAN?
Suharwardy's comments also raised questions about the distribution of political and administrative power in Balochistan.
He argued that authority in the province is fragmented between the provincial government, Islamabad, security agencies and different local power centres.
The broader question is whether elected representatives have sufficient control over areas where militant groups operate openly or exert influence.
For a province as strategically important as Balochistan, such uncertainty has significant consequences.
The region is home to vast mineral and natural resources and is strategically located alongside Iran, Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea. It is also central to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the development of Gwadar.
REPORT ALLEGES USE OF AFGHAN ‘LASHKARS’
A separate allegation has added another dimension to the Balochistan crisis.
According to a report by The Balochistan Post citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, Pakistani military and intelligence agencies have allegedly used state-backed armed groups, including former Afghan military personnel, in operations against Baloch pro-independence groups.
These groups are described in the report as lashkars and have been accused of operating alongside Pakistani security institutions.
The report further claimed that some former members of Afghanistan's military, who left the country following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, subsequently became associated with Pakistani security institutions or armed formations operating in Balochistan.
The allegations suggest that Pakistan's response to the Baloch insurgency could involve actors beyond the country's conventional military and intelligence structures.
However, India Today Digital could not independently verify these claims.
WHAT IS THE BALOCHISTAN INSURGENCY?
Balochistan has faced a separatist insurgency for more than two decades.
Baloch nationalist and separatist groups have accused Islamabad of exploiting the province's natural resources while failing to provide adequate political representation, economic opportunities and local autonomy.
The BLA is among the most prominent armed separatist organisations operating in the region.
The group has carried out attacks against Pakistani security forces as well as civilians, Chinese nationals and infrastructure projects.
The United States designated the BLA as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2025.
According to data cited in the original report from Pakistan's Centre for Research and Security Studies, Balochistan recorded hundreds of violent incidents and 956 fatalities in 2025.
WHY BALOCHISTAN MATTERS TO CHINA AND PAKISTAN
The instability has implications well beyond Balochistan.
The province is strategically important for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar serving as one of the key components of the infrastructure network.
Chinese nationals and CPEC-linked projects have previously come under attack from Baloch separatist groups.
Continued violence therefore creates problems for both Islamabad and Beijing, potentially affecting infrastructure development, investment and regional connectivity.
Balochistan's location also gives it strategic importance because of its proximity to Iran, Afghanistan and major maritime routes.
A DEEPER GOVERNANCE CRISIS?
The competing allegations — that politicians may be paying extortion to militant groups while armed formations are allegedly being used against separatists — point to a much more complicated picture than a conventional government-versus-insurgency conflict.
If the allegations are eventually substantiated, they would raise serious questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's security architecture and civilian administration.
For now, however, the claims remain allegations and should not be treated as established fact without independent verification.
What is clear is that repeated militant attacks, political instability and questions over who exercises authority in different parts of the province continue to make Balochistan one of Pakistan's most difficult security and governance challenges.
The attack on Langove's convoy is therefore more than another isolated security incident. It has once again brought the larger question into focus: who really controls Balochistan — the provincial government, Islamabad, the military or armed groups operating beyond the formal state structure?
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