| Insurgency in Sindh | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the spillover of theInsurgency in Balochistan | |||||||
.svg) Location of Sindh in Pakistan | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Pakistan
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Asif Ali ZardariShehbaz Sharif Kamran TessoriMurad Ali Shah |  Darya Khan Bashir Zaib Allah Nazar Baloch Gulzar Imam  [4] Sarfraz Bangulzai [5] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
Armed groups: Sindhudesh Liberation ArmyBaloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar Sindhudesh People’s ArmyMovements: Sindhudesh movementSindhi nationalist movementPolitical parties:  Jeay Sindh Qaumi MahazJeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz Sindh United PartyStudents organization: Jeay Sindh Students' Federation | |||||||
TheInsurgency in Sindh is a relatively low-level insurgency (as compared to otherinsurgencies in Pakistan) waged bySindhi nationalists againstPakistan. Sindhi nationalists want to create an independent Sindhi state, often referred to asSindhudesh.
Sindhi nationalists have allied up withBaloch nationalists to counter Pakistan's security forces. However, the insurgency has never attracted popular support in Sindh, with separatist groups having unorganized leadership and few members.[7][8]
In 1972,G. M. Syed, a prominent Sindhi politician and formerPakistan Movement activist, proposed the formation of an independent nation for the Sindhis under the nameSindhudesh. He was the first nationalist politician in Pakistan to call for the independence of Sindh.[9] The movement for a distinct Sindhi identity and sovereign state led by Syed drew inspiration from theBengali language movement and subsequentBangladesh Liberation War.[10] In post-independence Pakistan, the machinations of the Pakistani state convinced Syed that Sindhis would be marginalised byPunjabis,Muhajirs, andPashtuns.[9] The concept of Sindhudesh as developed by Syed calls for the liberation and freedom of Sindhis from alleged Punjabi-Muhajir "imperialism".[9]
With his political base largely weakened due to a failure to garner public support, Syed later advanced his position towards openly demanding outrightseparation from Pakistan in his works.[11]
Supporters of Sindhudesh have also desired support fromIndia to aid in the creation of a sovereign state, with Syed meeting withRajiv Gandhi in 1987 to gain Indian support.[12]
Separatist parties or militant groups have never been able to take centre stage in Sindh. ThePakistan People Party (PPP), ademocratic socialist mainstream national party, has dominated Sindhi politics since the 1970s. The success of the PPP in Sindh illustrates the preference of Sindhis for a constitutional political process over a separatist agenda to resolve their grievances.[3]
Sindhi nationalists assert that Sindh has been used to the advantage of people from non-Sindhi ethnic groups, citing the dominance of Muhajirs in parts of Sindhi politics and economics, particularly their dominance inKarachi, the financial capital of both Sindh and Pakistan. Sindhi nationalists also cite the large-scale migration to Sindh from other regions of Pakistan and the alleged Punjabi dominance in the defense sector, as major issues in Sindh that require action against the Pakistani state.[13]
17 August 2003 – In two separate acts of sabotage, portions of railway tracks were destroyed when bombs exploded on up and down tracks inKotri andNawabshah.[14]
16 August 2004 – Two bombs explode nearNawabshah, 250 km (150 miles) north-east ofKarachi. The first explosion damaged a rail track, while the second explosion a few minutes later wounded two policemen and a journalist who were at the scene.[15]
13 June 2005 – Two electricity pylons of 500kv high transmission line were damaged near theSann railway station.[16]
14 July 2010 – Sindhi separatists try to blow upHyderabad railway track, Bomb Disposal Squad defused four bombs found by residents on the track of theOdero Lal Railway Station in Hyderabad.[17]
15 July 2010 – 3 feet of railway tracks destroyed in blast.[18]
1 November 2010 – Two bomb blast at Railway Track betweenKotri &Hyderabad.[19]
2 November 2010 – 4 bombs go off, destroying railway tracks inHyderabad.[20]
4 November 2010 – A low-intensity bomb exploded at railway tracks nearNawabshah, just minutes after a cargo train carrying oil had passed. Another bomb was defused by the bomb disposal squad.[21]
6 November 2010 – Two (JSMM) activists were arrested after being suspected masterminds of the bomb incidents in the beginning of November.[22]
11 February 2011 – Ten low-intensity explosions at railway tracks acrossSindh.[23]
12 February 2011 – Blast at rail track nearKotri station[24]
15 February 2011 – Twin blasts damage railway tracks nearMatiari.[25]
17 February 2011 – Twin blasts damage railway tracks inKarachi.[26]
29 April 2011 – Blast forces train off the tracks inSukkur.[27]
27 November 2011 – Six bomb blasts damage railway tracks inSindh.[28]
26 May 2012 – On the National Highway a group of unknown gunmen attacked and killed 7 people and at least 25 more were injured in a passenger bus. SLA claimed the attack.[29]
12 July 2013 – Two powerful blasts rocked Hyderabad, one at the boundary wall of the office of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hyderabad and the other at a railway track in Hussainabad. Both the explosions were heard far and wide.[30]
5 November 2013 – A bomb planted near a railway track near Hussainabad inHyderabad destroyed a portion of up-track.[31] A second bomb went off in Khairpur District after the departure of the Shalimar Express to Karachi via the Gambat railway station.[32]
14 November 2016 – A vehicle of aChinese engineer was targeted with remote control bomb at Gulshan-e-Hadeed,Karachi. The Chinese national and his driver were seriously injured.[33]
5 August 2020 – The Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a rally organized by theJamaat-i-Islami in Karachi that injured about 40 people. The rally was taken out on the first anniversary of India government’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the blast, the rally continued.[34]
14 March 2022 – TheCounter Terrorism Department arrested three members of the SRA inSukkur.[35]
1 April 2022 – Two blasts damage railway tracks inKotri, the SRA claims responsibility.[36]
7 April 2022 – Three alleged militants of the SRA were arrested by Hussainabad police.[37]
29 April 2022 – A blast damages an electricity pylon near Tando Mohammad Khan road, SRA claims responsibility.[38]
12 May 2022 – The Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for an attack in the Saddar area ofKarachi killing one civilian and injuring seven others.[39][40]
17 May 2022 –Larkana police claimed to have arrested six militants of the Asghar Shah group of the SRA in Nasirabad.[41]
28 September 2022 – a Chinese national was killed and two others were injured when an unidentified assailant opened fire at a dental clinic. Chinese-origin Pakistani dentists, Dr. Richard Hu and his wife Phen Teyin, sustained bullet injuries. Ronald Raymond Chou, their Chinese employee, however, died on the spot. All three victims held Chinese and Pakistani dual nationality. TheSindhudesh People’s Army (SPA), a new Sindhi separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.[42][8]
29 May 2024 – The terrorists, which were caught attempting to conduct an attack on Pakistan's Independence day, accepted responsibility for the explosion in DAS Hyderi Larkana on May 29 after getting arrested.[43]
12 August 2024 – The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Police in Larkana, along with agencies took action on Sunday, based on secret information and arrested two wanted terrorists belonging to the SRA.[43]
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