There is no doubt anymore about India’s involvement in the disintegration of Pakistan in 1971. This guilty act has been openly confessed by the Indian ruling class, both in the past and present. The people of Bangladesh have also become increasingly aware of this reality and have been vocal about it, particularly since the ouster of the India-backed Sheikh Hasina Wajid last year.
Therefore, there is a need to understand the specific challenges in Balochistan as India is quite actively involved in the region and the pattern is almost the same as it was in Dhaka. Also, there is a need to learn lessons from the past.
The capturing of Kulbhushan Yadav, an Indian spy, from Balochistan, war-lord Uzair Baloch’s confession of being backed by Indian intelligence agencies, and the Indian media’s frequent highlighting of even trivial incidents in Balochistan reflect a strong desire among the Indian ruling elite, and many others in the country, for Pakistan’s further disintegration. For instance, Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor of India, openly declared in a public gathering— almost as if fulfilling his own wishful fantasy— that Pakistan may lose Balochistan. Then came the Jaffr Express outrage.
Therefore, they should continue pursuing their legal rights through lawful means, and the authorities should respect these rights instead of countering themous Pakistan runs through Balochistan
Indian YouTubers quickly amass millions of views by creating content on Balochistan, often aligning with India’s ruling elite or promoting narratives that portray Pakistan’s disintegration as a solution. While interest in Balochistan is not problematic itself, such content ignores India’s own separatist movements, like Khalistan. Even Canada’s leadership has criticized India’s interference in their country, accusing it of targeting activists. This highlights the contradiction in promoting separatism abroad while downplaying internal secessionist challenges.
On the surface, Indian rulers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, portray an air of indifference toward Pakistan, claiming it is “dying its own death” and asserting that they are focused on other priorities. They publicly dismiss Pakistan as no longer a rival worth their concern. The Indian media, along with many content creators, echo this sentiment, mocking Pakistan and its citizens while repeatedly declaring that its collapse is inevitable.
However, this facade of indifference is contradicted by their actions and persistent involvement in Pakistan, which serve as clear confessions that they still perceive this struggling nation as a formidable resistance to New Delhi’s hegemonic ambitions. While many Indians oppose Pakistan’s disintegration, India’s leadership views Pakistan as a key obstacle to regional dominance, regardless of its economic or technological progress.
Nonetheless, it cannot be ignored that certain misunderstandings and mistakes in the past, and even in the present, have provided foreign powers with soft entries into the internal matters of Pakistan. As it is rightly said, we learn from history that we do not learn from history. India and other powers interested in breaking Pakistan for various reasons will continue to look for loopholes in Pakistan’s policies. However, policymakers in this country must address how to stop such leakages in policies, particularly concerning Balochistan.
First and foremost, the trend or menace of “counter-ism” should end right here. Everything cannot and should not be countered. If there are people who have disagreements or differences with certain policies, they should not be countered but instead seen as Pakistani citizens who have differences to certain approaches and policies. The consistent policies of countering instead of understanding those who have grievances had and will only cause further boiling of this province. And who does not like to fish in the troubled waters?
Instead of countering the growing grievances of the people of Balochistan, where not only the Baloch but also the Pashtuns have begun expressing their concerns openly, issues should be approached through the lens of solutions and improvement. A starting point could be ensuring the right to life, and state authorities should constitutionally uphold the writ of the state. No citizen’s right to life should be violated.
Pakistan’s oldest federal party, claiming to uphold democracy and resistance, should also respect peaceful protestors instead of suppressing them. Heavy-handed tactics only attract negative attention, worsening Pakistan’s image and highlighting oppressive responses to dissent.
In the long run, the trust of the masses in electoral politics should be restored through free and fair elections. A significant majority of people living in Balochistan are either indifferent toward elections or have lost faith in electoral politics due to certain reasons, rigging being one of them. The individuals who often win elections are quite clearly not the choice of the majority. Despite Balochistan’s small population relative to its vast land area, people, with or without internet access, become aware of rigging, regardless of where it occurs in the province.
The pressing question of Balochistan cannot be addressed through counterism; it requires a sophisticated understanding of the will and grievances of the people. Until we bring our house in order, we cannot eliminate the possibilities of, or prevent, foreign involvement in Balochistan.
The locals of the province should be the primary beneficiaries of mega projects, as a significant majority of them are caught between the Sardar and the Sarkar. They deserve a better quality of life and greater opportunities to improve their livelihoods. These projects can attract more friends and stakeholders only if the locals benefit first. For instance, investments in the education and health sectors in Gwadar are already making a positive difference in the lives of the locals. Otherwise, Balochistan will continue to be a stick used by certain powers and elements to beat Pakistan.
Those in favour of an independent Balochistan should also consider the obvious possibility of Afghanistan or Iran occupying Balochistan soon after if it gains such independence— which is a big if. The inter-tribal rivalries, lack of cooperation, intense competition, challenging geography, the presence of terrorist organizations as lethal as the so-called Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the absence of a visible, mature political class to govern a new state all suggest that such a state would struggle to survive. India would likely treat the Muslims of this province worse than the treatment Muslims face under the Bharatiya Janata Party in India. This wishful thinking could turn into a dreadful nightmare that future generations of the province’s people would neither forget nor recover from.
Therefore, they should continue pursuing their legal rights through lawful means, and the authorities should respect these rights instead of countering them through various tactics. Only then can this pressing issue be resolved positively, and Balochistan can be transformed into a more valuable asset for Pakistan. Indeed, the road to a stable and prosperous Pakistan runs through Balochistan.
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