For several weeks now, Balochistan has been engulfed in protests. These protests were primarily organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and have dominated headlines, drawing national attention to the escalating unrest in the region. Amid this turmoil, however, a significant development quietly unfolded and largely went unnoticed by mainstream media: the arrest of Wahid Kambar, a prominent separatist leader and the founding figure of the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) – one of the major banned ethno-separatist groups operating in Balochistan.
While rumours of Kambar's arrest circulated within separatist and political circles across Balochistan, it wasn't until July 28 that the BLF officially confirmed his capture by Pakistan's security agencies.
The statement was largely drowned in the din of Baloch Raji Muchi organised by the BYC in Gwadar and the communications blackout instituted by the government in response.
The statement issued by BLF said communication with Kambar was abruptly severed on July 19. BLF Spokesperson Gohram Baloch said that an internal investigation conducted by the group revealed that several armed men, purportedly from Pakistan's security agencies, had forcibly dragged Kambar into a motor car and spirited him away to an undisclosed location.
Details about his arrest, including his exact whereabouts, remain murky. However, it is widely believed that he was arrested outside Pakistani territory in either Kerman or Sistan and Baluchistan regions of Iran.
The Pakistani government and security agencies have yet to release any statements regarding the arrest.
Who is Wahid Kambar?
Kambar is no ordinary figure in the world of Baloch insurgency. He is regarded as the foundational architect of the BLF. Revered by his followers, Kambar has mentored leaders such as Dr Allah Nazar and is accredited with inspiring a generation of youngsters to rise up against the state.
Hailing from the Kech district, Kambar's journey into the world of insurgency began in the tumultuous 1970s, during which Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had ousted the National Awami Party (NAP) 's ten-month-old Balochistan government.
In 1973, the Bhutto administration accused NAP of committing treason after claiming to have discovered weapons intended for NAP at the Ba'athist Iraq embassy in Islamabad, leading to a crackdown that included the arrest of key figures such as then Balochistan Chief Minister Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Governor Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, and leader Khair Bakhsh Marri.
As a student leader with the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) at the University of Karachi, Kambar was drawn into the armed uprising dominated by Marri tribesmen against Bhutto's government. This fourth wave of insurgency concluded when General Ziaul Haq, following a coup in 1977, deposed Bhutto and released all jailed Baloch leaders.
After a period of relative calm, Kambar re-emerged in the early 2000s as a pivotal figure in the revival of the Baloch insurgency. He played a crucial role in forming the BLF and expanding the insurgency into the Makran region, an area previously untouched by four earlier conflicts in the province.
Pakistani security services are not unfamiliar with Kambar. In 2007, he was detained by the security agencies for 14 months. He was implicated in several cases, but he was acquitted of all charges and released in 2011
"The formation of the BLF was Kambar's brainchild, aimed at shifting guerrilla warfare from the tribal belts to the non-tribal areas of Balochistan, particularly in the Makran and Rakhshan divisions," said Imtiaz Baloch, an Islamabad-based researcher who closely studies insurgencies in the region. "Kambar's past experiences in guerrilla warfare initially helped channel the disillusioned youth to join the Baloch armed separatists in these areas."
A leader from a Baloch nationalist party based in Turbat recalls how, in the early 2000s, Kambar's influence extended to emerging leaders such as Dr Allah Nazar and Ghulam Muhammad Baloch. During this period, Dr Nazar founded his faction of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO), known as BSO-Azad, while Ghulam Baloch established the Baloch National Movement (BNM). Both groups openly advocated for an armed struggle to secure Baloch rights.
Kambar allegedly asked Dr Nazar to establish the BLF and actively recruited young activists from BSO-Azad and BNM to join their armed insurgency. Today, the BLF stands as one of the two major Baloch separatist groups operating in the province, alongside a faction of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) - which is led by Bashir Zaib, another former head of BSO-Azad.
"Kambar's ideological influence and tactical acumen have made him a formidable figure in the insurgency, akin to Khair Bakhsh Marri," said a Baloch leader, who requested to remain anonymous owing to security concerns.
Pakistani security services are not unfamiliar with Kambar. In 2007, he was detained by the security agencies for 14 months. He was implicated in several cases, but he was acquitted of all charges and released in 2011. Kambar then promptly disappeared into the mountains of Balochistan, and his whereabouts remained a mystery.
Today, Baloch separatist groups and organisations with ties to such groups refer to Kambar as 'Ustad' or teacher.
Ramifications
Experts are already speculating on the potential consequences of Kambar's arrest, particularly its impact on the insurgency in Balochistan's volatile Makran region.
"Kambar's arrest is a significant moral blow to the BLF, as they have lost a mentor," said a Turbat-based nationalist leader. "However, it will not weaken the overall insurgency."
Some analysts suggest that Kambar's arrest may be tied to the recent cooperation between Islamabad and Tehran to combat cross-border terrorism. This collaboration has intensified after the tit-for-tat cross-border airstrikes by both countries earlier this year in January.
"The recent deployment of border liaison officers in Pakistan's Kech and Iran's Zahedan districts indicates growing collaboration between the two nations," said Imtiaz Baloch. "However, neither country has officially confirmed or denied Wahid's detention."
Meanwhile, some Baloch nationalist groups have launched a campaign, terming Kambar's arrest an 'enforced disappearance', calling for an 'international intervention' and for the International Committee of the Red Cross to declare Kambar a 'prisoner of war'.
The true impact of Kambar's alleged arrest will become apparent in the coming months as Pakistan seeks to clamp down on all those forces threatening its multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, particularly its sole deep sea port in Gwadar and the construction of its longest motorway, M-8, which connects Gwadar in Balochistan to Sukkur in Sindh.