Hybrid terror: BLA executes, BYC sympathizes, and ISKP obsecures Mastung judge’s killing

ISLAMABAD, Jul 24 (APP): With the assassination of District and Sessions Judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar in Mastung drawing nationwide condemnation, the security experts and analysts unmasked a foreign-backed hybrid warfare strategy driven by the BLA–BYC nexus operating under handlers in Delhi and Kabul.

The targeted attack took place near the Wali Khan Bypass crossing as judicial officers were traveling from Quetta to Mastung in which Sessions Judge Kakar and his security guard were killed while Additional Sessions Judge Tariq Lashari sustained injuries.

Security analysts view this targeted killing as an attempt to intimidate the judiciary, subvert the rule of law, and force a retreat of state authority in Balochistan. Having failed to break the resolve of law enforcement agencies, banned insurgent groups have increasingly turned toward judicial officers, prosecutors, and civilian institutions.

Hybrid Terror

Intelligence experts describe a distinct multi-layered tactic taking root in the region as BLA executes physical ambushes, targeted assassinations, and infrastructure destruction. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) functions as an urban proxy—providing ideological messaging, framing narrative cover, and building public sympathy to shield armed militants from accountability.

The transnational terror groups like ISKP step in with rapid claims of responsibility hours after an attack to absorb public outrage and obscure the true operational hands.

Given the geographical footprint and BLA’s established presence in Mastung, intelligence analysts view ISKP’s opportunistic claims as part of an operational convergence designed to deflect backlash when civilian or judicial figures are targeted.

External Sponsorship and Calls for UN Action

Security assessments point to external handlers operating out of Delhi and Kabul who supply logistics, secure communication channels, and financial backing to sustain proxy warfare in Pakistan.

Given the nexus between ethnic insurgent groups, and transnational terror proxies, security analysts are calling on global counterterrorism bodies to act.

The experts urge international partners to examine these operational and financial networks under existing UN Security Council resolution frameworks.

They are also increasingly demanding to penalize designated entities and their external financial patrons to prevent further regional instability.

State and Judicial Response

In separately issued statements, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti reiterated that the state will not succumb to terrorist intimidation. National Solidarity: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi postponed the national Judicial Wellbeing Conference in solidarity with the martyred judge and the legal fraternity.

The security forces have intensified intelligence-based operations in and around Mastung, neutralizing multiple hostile combatants.

The Balochistan Bar Council announced a two-day province-wide court boycott and three days of official mourning, calling for enhanced security measures for judicial personnel.