In a complex security operation, the Pakistani army recently announced the arrest of Gulzar Imam, known as "Chambay", the leader of what is known as the Balochistan National Army in the Baluchistan region (southwest Pakistan), which represented – according to observers – a qualitative blow to the rebellion in Bolshestan and Indian plans in Pakistan.
Maria Sultan, security analyst and head of the Institute for Strategic Stability for South Asia, considered in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the arrest of Imam represents a major blow to India, "because it used his influence to create terrorism in Pakistan, and to help achieve its goal of destabilizing regional stability, not only for Pakistan but also for China through Attacking the projects of the joint economic corridor between China and Pakistan.
Sultan adds that this will weaken the spread of "India's terrorist activities in Pakistan and in Balochistan in particular," but more importantly, it will help break the expansion of Baloch attacks in different regions of Pakistan.
And the day before yesterday, Friday, the media authority of the Pakistani army announced that its main intelligence agency had managed to capture a "high-value target", which is Gulzar Imam.
He also considered the arrest of Jalzar Imam as a service to Chinese interests, as his movement was focused on targeting Chinese projects and interests in Pakistan, as it views Chinese investment in Balochistan as an occupation and an attempt to steal the region's capabilities.
According to the army statement, Imam has previously visited India and Afghanistan, and his links to hostile intelligence agencies are being investigated.
Also according to the statement, the hostile intelligence agencies tried to exploit him to work against Pakistan and its national interests.
Maria Sultan says that Imam was a dual national and holds an Afghan passport under a false name, and works from Afghanistan and India as well as Iran.
Influencing the insurgency
For his part, security analyst Amer Rana tells Al-Jazeera Net that Imam is considered one of the dangerous and influential leaders in the Baloch rebellion, and his danger lies in the fact that he worked to expand the attacks to reach the Punjab province (east of the country), as happened in the Lahore attack, the capital of Punjab, last year, and this was a source A real concern for Pakistani security.
According to the army's statement and available information, Jalzar is the leader and founder of what is known as the "Baluchistan National Army" (BNA), which was formed after two factions split from each of the Baluchistan Republican Army "BRA" (BRA) and the United Balochistan Army. UBA.
The statement considered that the arrest of Champai "represents a serious blow to the Balochistan National Army, as well as other armed groups that were trying to destabilize Balochistan."
Opinions differ on the impact of Imam's arrest on the weakening of the Balochistan National Army and other separatist movements in Balochistan.
A security official in Quetta – who declined to be identified – told the Pakistani newspaper "Dawn" that since Imam is considered one of the most prominent leaders in the "Baloch Raji Agoy Sangar" (BRAS) alliance, his arrest means the insurgent alliance has been significantly weakened. general.
Amer Rana says that the arrest of an imam is of great importance, and in any case he works to weaken the Baloch rebellion through his confessions and the disclosure of information that benefits Pakistan.
But Fahd Nabil, a security analyst at the Institute of "Geopolitical Insights" (Geopolitical Insights) in Islamabad, questioned during an interview with the newspaper "Dawn" the extent of the impact of the arrest or elimination of a leader or two of the rebels of Baluchistan in general, recalling the increase in the strength and attacks of the Baluchistan Liberation Army After the killing of its leader, Aslam Baloch, in 2018.
According to the security official in Quetta, it is possible that Sarfraz Bangulzai, known as "Morid Baloch", the co-founder of the movement, is currently heading the group.
He adds that the group's future lies in the course of action that Khalifa Jalzar will take.
complex security process
According to the army's media statement, the security operation was carried out by the Pakistani intelligence agency, and it was designed "in an innovative and carefully planned manner, and was carried out with precision over a period of months in different geographical locations." The statement did not provide any information about the circumstances of the operation and the location of the arrest.
According to Dawn newspaper, news of Imam's arrest appeared on the same day as a high-level meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday.
Security analyst Amer Rana says that with regard to the details and circumstances of the arrest, some reports claimed that an imam was arrested in September of last year in Turkey, but the matter remained unconfirmed, and now the army has officially announced his arrest.
High value goal
Imam is considered one of the most important Baloch leaders wanted by Pakistan, as it accuses him of planning and carrying out a number of attacks that claimed the lives of Pakistani civilians and soldiers.
He is the leader of the Balochistan National Army, which was established in January 2022, a movement responsible for dozens of violent attacks in Pakistan, including the attacks in Bangor and Noshki in Balochistan province in February 2022, and was preceded in January by an attack in Lahore. Capital of the province of Punjab (east).
The movement shares the goals and demands of other Baloch movements, the most important of which is the independence of Balochistan, the demand to invest greater economic resources in the region, and to stop exploiting the natural resources of Balochistan.
Gulzar Imam remained a deputy of Brahamdagh Bugti in the Baluchistan Republican Army until 2018 when his membership in the movement was revoked, and he split with an armed faction from the Balochistan Republican Army, and he had an instrumental role in establishing the "BRAS" alliance that was established in 2018, which includes a number of Armed Baloch nationalist groups and movements, and remained the chief of its operations.
