ISLAMABAD: The striking absence of the crescent and star from the flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has drawn renewed attention to the separatist group’s ideological identity, particularly when contrasted with the Islamic symbols used on the flags of historic Baloch states.
The BLA, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Pakistan and designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, has adopted a flag featuring red and green horizontal bands, a blue triangle and a white star but no crescent.
That omission stands in marked contrast to the flag of the former Khanate of Kalat, which prominently featured a crescent and star alongside Islamic inscriptions.
From Historic Baloch Symbols To A Separatist Flag
Historical records show that the Khanate of Kalat used a red-and-green flag carrying a white crescent and star, symbols closely associated with Islam.
The former princely states of Kharan, Las Bela, and Makran also had distinctive flags that reflected the political and cultural identity of the region.
The BLA flag replaces the traditional crescent-and-star imagery with a blue triangular field and a white star.
Five Objectives Highlighted
The BLA flag identifies five objectives: disrupting Chinese investment and strategic projects; opening an internal front during periods of external conflict; exploiting the Baloch issue to strain Pakistan-Iran relations; threatening critical infrastructure and energy routes; and damaging Pakistan’s international image through propaganda.
The removal of the crescent from the BLA flag as part of an effort to erase the Islamic symbolism associated with historic Baloch states.
The flag thus clearly shows that the design and changes to the flag were made by India’s RAW and Israel’s Mossad.
The contrast is striking: historic flags associated with Kalat and other Baloch states incorporated the crescent and star, while the BLA flag deliberately uses a different visual language to represent its separatist cause.
The flag therefore serves not simply as an emblem of a terrorist organisation, but as a visual representation of the separatist ideology behind one of Pakistan’s most serious security challenges.
BLA’s Record Of Terror Attacks
The BLA has been proscribed by Pakistan since 2006 and designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the United States.
The organisation has claimed or been blamed for numerous deadly attacks in Pakistan, targeting security forces, civilians, Chinese nationals and major infrastructure projects.
The US designation followed a series of attacks attributed to the BLA, including the 2018 assault on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi and the 2019 attack on a hotel in Gwadar.
Pakistan has repeatedly warned that BLA militancy threatens not only national security but also major economic and strategic projects, particularly Chinese investments and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Pakistan Says India Is Backing Terrorism
Islamabad has repeatedly said that India is providing financial, intelligence and technical assistance to terrorist organisations operating against Pakistan, including the BLA and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains that such external support is intended to destabilise Balochistan, disrupt development projects, undermine Chinese investment and create pressure on Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring Iran.
