Terrorist alliance formation: the case of Islamic State and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in Balochistan (Pakistan)

Abstract

The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), along with its ally Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), has adversely affected the security landscape of Balochistan, Pakistan. Moreover, this alliance has posed a significant threat to the security of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in the province. ISKP appears at the core of this alliance network in the province. Though the consequences of this alliance are obvious – namely, the deterioration of the security situation and the sabotaging of the BRI in Balochistan – the causes of its formation remain inadequately understood. I use Tricia Bacon’s theoretical framework to unearth the causal mechanisms that led to forging this alliance by arguing that its organizational needs, identity convergence, and trust building helped LeJ cluster around ISKP. The corollary of my main argument is that ISKP could accrue and disperse the benefits of this alliance across the length and breadth of Balochistan. This dynamic has far-reaching implications for the overall security calculus in the region. On a prescriptive note, I conclude that Pakistan’s security establishment needs to understand the causes of this alliance to leverage the opportunities for disruption it presents while also taking proactive measures to preempt similar alliances, with ISKP at the core, in Balochistan.