Daily Times

Though Pakistan has successfully eradicated terrorists’ dens from the whole country and has broken the neck of the terror strain, some parts of Balochistan are, however, now and then shaken by militants’ attacks. Not to mention Baloch insurgents are quick to claim responsibility for such attacks, the major part of the problem remains in India. Who can forget the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s confession made in June 2015 in Bangladesh that his country is involved in activities to destabilize Pakistan? The very next year, our agencies arrested serving Indian naval officer Kulbhushun Yadav at Saravan region in Balochistan when he entered Pakistan from Iran. His admission of sponsoring terror outfits in Balochistan is no secret. Though Pakistan has been the target of Indian-sponsored campaigns – militarily and diplomatic – Balochistan, however, has become an ultimate target of Indian terrorism in the recent decade because of the huge investment made in the province under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The pattern of Indian terrorism in Balochistan, evident from militant attacks, is two ways: using sponsored terror outfits based in Afghanistan and financing Baloch insurgents backed by their leadership living abroad to target law-enforcement agencies, state installations, and innocent people. Pakistan has handed over the dossiers of Indian’s involvement in financing Baloch militants and Afghan groups and the active involvement of the Research Analysis Wing (RAW) – the Indian intelligence agency. The world looked the other way when India opened the office of the ‘Free Balochistan’, a banned terror outfit, in New Delhi on June 23, 2018, and announced that India would be fully backing “Free Balochistan Movement”.  Apart from military support to insurgents, Indian’s networks of hybrid war have also been working to target Balochistan.

It is, however, evident that the Baloch at large have rejected insurgents’ narratives and they have demonstrated it on every possible occasion. They have owned CPEC projects. They exhibited their mainstream political sentiments in the 2018 elections. Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan was in Balochistan where he admitted that in the past the province has been a victim of neglect. Not anymore. Now, the province has started its journey towards development and prosperity. Even militants have started turning themselves into the law-enforcement agencies and public representatives to shun militancy. This is the time the world paid attention to India’s policy of destabilizing neighboring countries – Pakistan, China, and Sri Lanka. It should turn to a peaceful resolution to mutual disputes. *