The current security landscape in Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran, is ever more defined by a deliberate inciting of violent chaos by foreign intelligence. It has taken a turn where terrorists are resorting to what can only be called “Balochicide”—targeting the same population they claim to be fighting for. This shift is underscored by documented atrocities by Jaish ul Adl (JuA): the execution of a disabled Baloch citizen walking with canes, the killing of 16-year-old Mansoor Shahbakhsh. Intelligence reports characterize this surge as being fueled by strategic psychological and proxy warfare by Israel, the US, and the UK to foster internal instability in Iran.
This is bolstered by corporations like SpaceX, where Elon Musk plays the role of both a modern-day Charlie Wilson and David Sassoon—defying the 2023 UN ruling with US backing, much like Sassoon did against China with British backing. The difference? Sassoon dealt in opium; Musk deals in the electronic warfare of the new age.
The ‘Theatrical Merger’
The recent formation of the Popular Fighters Front (PFF) alliance can be seen as a “theatrical merger”—a pivot toward a nationalist facade to mask the operational decay of sectarian cells. This merger appears to be a maneuver orchestrated by Israeli, American, and British intelligence agencies to sanitize the group’s image, more so given JuA is listed by the US State Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It is, in effect, an admission of failure: the “Jaish ul Adl brand” has become too toxic for recruitment.
The video confession of JuA terrorist Abdullah Arbabi attests to this. Their setbacks are compounded by the elimination of the group’s senior operational commander, Wali Mohammad Shah Bakhsh, and the failure of a systematic “intimidation project” against Sunni clerics in Sistan-Baluchestan, who have largely refused to validate the group’s narrative despite threatening phone calls.
A Complex Web
The Baloch people live across Iran, Pakistan, and Nimroz province of Afghanistan. The region has been contested for a long period. It was only for about 100 years under unified rule—the House of Kalat from mid-1700s to mid-1800s. But since then it has been divided, most notably by the British-imposed Goldsmid Line of 1863.
Now, the scion of the House of Marri—based in London under political asylum—along with Jaish ul Adl (now rebranded as PFF, and previously called Jundullah) are attempting to foment a major insurgency to form what they call “Greater Balochistan.” It’s a complex web. Pakistan supports JuA against Iran, while JuA in turn is in touch with BLA Azad, which also advocates for Greater Balochistan but fights against Pakistan—unlike JuA.
The core issue is a convergence between terror groups and Baloch nationalist factions. Notably, other Baloch nationalist guerrilla outfits operating in Pakistani Balochistan do not form part of this coalition. The Baloch Nationalist Army Beebarg (BNA Beebarg)—formed in 2024 after the Sarfaraz faction surrendered to Pakistan in December 2023—is the only group that has attacked Iran as well, though BLA Azad’s suicide bomber Mahikan Baloch referenced Iranian Baloch people in her audio message recorded before the March 2, 2025 suicide bombing targeting a Pakistani military convoy.
This alignment originated when members of the Marri group (now the Free Balochistan Movement/BLA Azad) were jailed alongside Jaish ul Adl and former Jundullah members. These jailhouse connections established the logistics for the current cooperation.
Then there are the foreign faces. Figures like former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher—known for his vocal support of Baloch self-determination and criticism of Pakistan—exemplify the contradictory nature of external involvement. As Aimal Faizi, former spokesperson for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, recalls in an interview with the author:
“Well, Rohrabacher had many faces. He was right about Pakistan in each and every regard, especially on Balochistan’s right to self-determination. Without focusing on his real motives, we did not have a problem with his views on Pakistan and Russia. Yet, the fact that he was openly critical of the Afghan government and also making statements on Afghan sovereignty and unity… that was a challenge then, and I sometimes had to comment about his remarks in the media.”
Faizi’s words capture a regional dilemma: positions that align with local grievances against one state can be welcomed, even when advanced by figures whose broader agenda may threaten the sovereignty of others—including Afghanistan and Iran.
The Weapons Pipeline
Tactically, this cooperation is reflected in weaponry. While most Baloch guerrilla groups in Pakistan lack advanced hardware, both JuA and the BLA Azad faction have secured access to sophisticated American-made equipment, including M4 rifles and high-end electronics, left behind following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Is this solely from jailhouse bonding—or does it point to British facilitation? Marri sits in London with political asylum, and London, along with Washington and Tel Aviv, has long backed such networks.
Starlink and the New Opium
Since 2022, when the Biden administration authorized US tech companies to bypass sanctions and sell Iranians communication tools, Starlink terminals have been smuggled into Iran by the thousands. The timing coincided with protests over the custodial death of Mahsa Amini. On January 11, 2026, President Donald Trump told reporters he “wanted to see Starlink restore internet access to Iran” and would speak to Musk about the issue.
The role of “Sookhtbar” (can be loosely translated into fuel smugglers) networks in smuggling these terminals into Sistan-Baluchestan bears close examination. These informal cross-border networks, operating along the Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, have long moved narcotics, fuel, vehicles, and human cargo.[ The non-hardened smugglers mainly deal in fuel—cars advertised publicly on Facebook pages. For fuel smuggling along the Iran-Pakistan border, the major routes are Taftan, Mashkhai, Panjgur (a major JuA base), Noshki, Mastung, Quetta, Surab, Khuzdar, Karkh, and Shahdad Kot.
In January 2024, Iranian missile and drone strikes reportedly targeted JuA positions in Panjgur. The group admitted that family members of senior commanders were killed.
The Hypocrisy
The white man, in his burden, introduced opium across the major production hubs of the world—Afghanistan’s Golden Crescent in 1979, the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos) as a legacy of British colonialism starting with the two Opium Wars against China, the Silver Triangle of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. No matter how many UN meetings happen with the West asking affected countries to curb narcotics trade—as long as the same Western intelligence agencies use narcotics as a weapon, smuggled directly by terrorists they support or their linked smugglers—there can be no peace anywhere. Drugs and arms flow hand in hand.
It is time to cut the hypocrisy—or flip everything in a Camus-like absurd way and declare everything legal, from mass killings to narcotics.
