It was 2:45 pm on 26 April 2022. Breaking news began flashing on television screens. And then it was there. The first woman suicide bomber had exploded in Karachi. The incident took place near the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi, where she detonated explosives as a van carrying Chinese academics approached the entrance. The attack, which killed three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army.
Later, the suicide bomber was identified as a 30-year-old Shari Baloch. She belonged to Niazar Abad in Turbat, Balochistan. She held an MEd, an MSc in zoology, and was pursuing an MPhil. She has had a stable government job as a schoolteacher since 2019. Reportedly, she had no financial issues, no missing persons cases, and no record of state persecution. Moreover, she had a son and a daughter.
Shari was married to a doctor, Hibtan Bashir. Investigations showed that he was an active member of the Majeed Brigade of the Balochistan Liberation Army and had not only recruited her but also pressured her into committing this heinous act. Reportedly, she was under the heavy influence of drugs and psychological manipulation.
Then, on 24 June 2023, Sumaiya Qalandrani blew herself up near a Frontier Corps convoy in Turbat. She was a 25-year-old born into the Qalandrani tribe in Khuzdar. Reports showed that her father was a Balochistan Liberation Army terrorist commander and that she had been raised with anti-state sentiment. Both sides of her family belonged to the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front. She remained active on social media, mainly romanticising the concept of a fidayee.
Since then, Mahal Baloch (August 2024), Ganjatoon (March 2025) and Zareena Rafiq Baloch (November 2025), all educated young women, have committed suicide bombings. In these incidents, one fact came to the fore. The terrorist organisations have evolved and, instead of solely focusing on socio-economic vulnerabilities, have initiated a well-researched and planned programme of ideological indoctrination and emotional manipulation of young urban women in Balochistan. They have become adept at using cyberspace and artificial intelligence, understanding well that there is no technology available that can curb all such nefarious activity on the internet.
When an attack is carried out by a woman, it attracts far greater local and international media attention than one carried out by a man. As is well known, sustained media coverage is the lifeblood of any terrorist organisation
This is proven through the interrogation of three girls who were arrested by security agencies before they could commit suicide bombings. According to a report by the Associated Press on 29 December 2025, police in Pakistan detained a teenage girl who had been radicalised and recruited online by an outlawed separatist group to carry out a “major suicide attack”. The girl was targeted on the internet by the Balochistan Liberation Army, which was designated as a terrorist group by the United States in August 2025. The group convinced the girl that carrying out an attack would bring her honour and recognition within the Baloch community, similar to other women who had carried out suicide bombings against security forces in the past.
For generations, Baloch traditions have upheld a strict principle: women and children must remain outside the realm of conflict. Even in the worst tribal feuds, the honour and protection afforded to women were never violated. But over the last ten years, as the availability of the internet has increased, so too has the power of propaganda, online radicalisation and strategic manipulation, including psychological paradigms. This is also true of various terrorist organisations across multiple regions of the world. Extremist groups have begun dividing violence into two coordinated components. One is overt and familiar: suicide bombings, targeted killings and mass-casualty attacks. The other is quieter, more adaptive and often overlooked—a narrative ecosystem that reframes violence, diffuses responsibility and speaks the language of justice and grievance. Together, these form what may be described as hybrid terrorism.
The Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front, in cahoots with other terrorist organisations, have begun a process that has turned Baloch tradition upside down. This shift is a betrayal of their cultural and tribal ethos. It would be a folly to take these cases as anomalies: they form part of a well-calculated strategy by local and foreign terrorist outfits to erode Baloch society from within. By weaponising hitherto non-combatants, their effort is to provoke the state into acting in violation of tradition, thereby generating momentum against itself and providing fuel for the Balochistan Liberation Army’s propaganda.
One of the main reasons for this change in tactics is operational convenience. Because of cultural and social norms, women face minimal security screening. Moreover, there is a very low level of suspicion, making passage through security checkpoints much easier.
Secondly, when an attack is carried out by a woman, it attracts far greater local and international media attention than one carried out by a man. As is well known, sustained media coverage is the lifeblood of any terrorist organisation.
Thirdly, such actions are projected as the ultimate sacrifice for the Baloch cause, as propagated by the Balochistan Liberation Army.
Fourthly, these methods mirror tactics adopted by ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda and other terrorist outfits.
From the above, it becomes crystal clear that the situation demands an urgent and multidimensional response. The days of counterterrorism conducted solely through kinetic measures are over. With the explosion of social media, the battlefield has expanded into classrooms and bedrooms. Mobile phones and applications are being used for narrative terrorism, which redefines moral compasses and romanticises violence. The state must invest heavily in a well-thought-out, long-term counter-narrative strategy. It must go on the front foot in exposing the deceit and falsehoods of the Balochistan Liberation Army and other terrorist organisations.
Baloch society needs to be empowered through a partnership between the state and the people to counter this ideological exploitation. Strengthening digital literacy, mental health outreach and, most importantly, establishing a mechanism for community reporting to relevant authorities when such trends are observed is essential.
If left unchecked, this latest evolution of Balochistan Liberation Army tactics will continue to distort traditions, deepen grievances and prolong the conflict. Addressing this sensitive matter requires foresight, empathy and resolve—before another precious life is lost, not only to violence, but to deception.