Iran has a Baluchistan problem on restive Pakistan border

KARACHI — Spanning a length of over 550 miles through desert terrain, the porous Iran-Pakistan border provides ample opportunities for unmonitored movement, and rebel groups are exploiting this isolated expanse. 

With attacks by Sunni Baluch separatist group Jaish al-Adl on the Iranian side and more than a dozen attacks by insurgents from the ethno-nationalist militant Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on the Pakistani side, the Pakistan-Iran border region has become a critical flashpoint since the beginning of this year. 

In January, activities by terrorist groups on both sides of the border caused a tit-for-tat exchange of airstrikes between the two neighbors. 

Now upping the ante in the past two weeks, Jaish al-Adl has targeted police and military installations in the towns of Chabahar and Rask in Iran’s southeastern border province of Sistan-Baluchistan. The first attack was on April 3 and the second on April 9, with the first incident resulting in at least 16 Iranian security personnel killed. In the second attack, the group ambushed a police convoy in Sistan-Baluchistan and killed five security officers.