Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan by area, contains 44% of the country’s total landmass. The region has been marked by conflict for decades, and on Jan. 31, nearly 200 people died in a wave of coordinated attacks by Baloch separatists and the subsequent response by Pakistani security forces. 

On Jan. 31, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group fighting for complete independence from Pakistan, launched a series of attacks across a dozen cities throughout the region. They stormed markets, banks, schools, and other public places, killing at least 30 civilians and 18 law enforcement personnel. Responding to these attacks, Pakistani security forces killed around 150 BLA fighters in operations conducted over the next several hours. 

The recent violence represented at least the fifth major uprising in Balochistan since 1947, when Pakistan became independent from British rule. Each uprising has been crushed by the Pakistani military, but grievances have never been fully addressed. To understand what presently enables this cycle of revolt in Balochistan, it is important to analyze the role that natural resources play in the region’s political economy.  

Balochistan is a province incredibly rich in resources. It holds 80% of Pakistan’s mineral wealth and is home to large deposits of copper, gold, natural gas, and other materials like coal and iron. Historically, Balochistan’s resources have powered the rest of Pakistan, while the region’s inhabitants themselves have remained poor. The exploitation of Balochistan continues today, but with foreign actors thrown increasingly into the mix. 

Gwadar is a key port city in Balochistan, on the coast of the Arabian Sea. It is also home to a deep-sea port built and operated by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $62 billion project linking China to the Arabian Sea under the Asian superpower’s Belt and Road Initiative. 

Since 2013, China has invested over $1 billion into Gwadar’s port, in an effort to create a shortcut to receive energy shipments from the Middle East. Yet the city remains underinvested: 90% of settlements in Gwadar do not have paved streets, and 43% of homes still have wooden roofs. For locals, the benefits from CPEC are little-to-none – separatist groups like the BLA view the China-Pakistan partnership as a scheme to continue exploiting Balochistan’s resources. The past decade has seen increasing attacks on Chinese nationals and projects in the region. After the recent attacks, China reaffirmed its support for Pakistan against the insurgents: a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press briefing, “China strongly condemns the [Balochistan] attacks…China firmly opposes any form of terrorism and will as always firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism.” 

China is not the only foreign player in Balochistan. This week, the U.S. announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold reserves. Officials tout the project as benefitting Balochistan’s development and local employment. But from the perspective of Baloch residents, it is easy to view this project as another means of wealth extraction without equitable local benefits. 

If the Pakistani government does truly intend to better the lives of the inhabitants of Balochistan, any change must begin with a shift away from its heavy-handed tactics. The state’s military has been accused of disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture. Its killing of 150 BLA fighters in the recent violence suggests that it still sees military force as the answer. 

Rafiullah Kakar, a Cambridge political analyst specializing in Balochistan, argues that Pakistan needs to take steps to regain trust. “The Pakistani state needs to fundamentally shift and recalibrate its approach,” he told Al Jazeera. “The starting point must be meaningful confidence-building measures to create an enabling environment for political reconciliation and dialogue.” 

In sum, if Pakistan is to keep reaping the benefits of foreign investment in Balochistan, it cannot continue at the expense of the Baloch people. The profitability of the land does not diminish the importance of its people. With no hope for reconciliation, separatist groups like the BLA are locked into a cycle of violence. As such, the onus is on the Pakistani government to create a state where peace and profit are not mutually exclusive.