In March 2016, an Indian businessman, involved in cargo operations near Iran's Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports, faced an alleged abduction by a relatively unknown terrorist group in Pakistan — Jaish al-Adl. The subsequent kidnapping of Kulbhushan Jadhav brought Jaish al-Adl to the attention of Indian intelligence agencies, who claimed Jadhav was traded by the group to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for monetary gain. This incident reignited tensions between India and Pakistan, with the latter asserting that Jadhav was a former Indian Navy officer and accused him of espionage.
Jaish al-Adl, also known as Jaysh al-Adl, has once again made headlines after Iran launched missile and drone strikes in Pakistan's Balochistan province, targeting bases of this Sunni terrorist group. Pakistan condemned the attack, calling it an "unprovoked violation of its airspace," and cautioned Iran about potential "serious consequences." These events unfolded amidst the Middle East crisis, where Israel is engaged in intense conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
Operating in the Sistan-Baluchistan region of Pakistan, Jaish al-Adl, meaning 'Army of Justice,' has been a longstanding concern for both Iran and Pakistan due to the shared border running approximately 900km. Designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Iran, Jaish al-Adl has been involved in attacks on Iranian facilities, functioning on both sides of the border.
With an estimated 500–600 fighters, the group's exact motives for being targeted by Iran remain unclear. However, recent claims suggest that Jaish al-Adl terrorists attacked a police station in Sistan, resulting in the death of 11 Iranian officers. The roots of Jaish al-Adl trace back to the Sunni militant group Jundallah, which engaged in a violent insurgency against Iran from 2000-2010. After the capture and execution of Jundallah's leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, in 2010, Jaish al-Adl emerged in 2012 with support from al-Qaida.
The group aims for the independence of Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran, operating in a region predominantly populated by minority Sunni Muslims disenchanted with Shia-dominated Iran. The United States labeled Jundallah as a terrorist organization in 2010, and in 2019, the group changed its name to 'Jaish al-Adl.' According to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) of the United States, Jaish al-Adl has been involved in a series of attacks against Iranian border police and military personnel since 2013, including ambushes, assassinations, assaults, hit-and-run raids, and kidnappings of civilians and government officials.
The group gained international attention in 2013 after killing 14 Iranian border guards in Saravan. Subsequent attacks targeted Iranian facilities, and in 2019, the group attacked Iran's paramilitary group, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), killing 27 personnel in a suicide bombing near Zahedan. In the same year, 14 Iranian security personnel were abducted near the Pakistan border, with five reportedly released after Pakistan's intervention.
As the situation unfolds, this article aims to provide insights into the complex dynamics surrounding Jaish al-Adl and the ongoing challenges in the Sistan-Baluchistan region, offering an understanding of the terrorism surge along the Iran-Pakistan border.
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