On 31 January 2026, following the deadly and wide-ranging military campaign known as Operation Herof, the situation in Balochistan has changed, and the campaign is producing long-term economic and political effects on Baloch society. State institutions are openly implementing policies amounting to collective punishment, while Baloch nationalist parliamentary parties are describing these policies as a step towards the end of the forced relationship between Balochistan and Pakistan.
The changing strategies and combat capabilities of the Baloch Liberation Army have affected Baloch society, and it is also becoming evident that global mining projects and foreign investment initiatives in Balochistan and the region are increasingly uncertain. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and mining projects in Chaghi were already under attack by Baloch armed groups, and after Operation Herof, the United States, Saudi Arabia and other countries are also showing reluctance to invest in Balochistan.
The emotional and frustrated statements of the imposed Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, make clear that the narrative of state authority he had promoted for years has been exposed by the Baloch Liberation Army’s Operation Herof, raising serious questions about the writ of the state in Balochistan. Actions by Pakistan military forces such as blowing up and burning the homes of Baloch leaders and forcibly disappearing their parents indicate a distressed attempt by the state to restore its authority through force.
State institutions in Pakistan had previously promoted a narrative that the conflict involved merely emotional youths who had been radicalised. However, the participation in Operation Herof of attackers and fighters from different social layers of Baloch society, across age groups and including gender representation, has weakened that narrative and conveyed to the world that the decisions taken in this struggle are not simply reactions to state policies but conscious choices aimed at achieving national independence.
Operation Herof is a multi-dimensional military event whose effects will be long-lasting and will shape the political, economic and literary life of every segment of Baloch society. The campaign will be remembered as a significant battle in Baloch war history, and such campaigns will be decisive in shaping future outcomes in Balochistan. Operations like Herof will not only alter current military strategies but will also play a key role in reshaping the future battlefield landscape of the Baloch national liberation struggle.