a day ago
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- Business Recorder
Proxy war
EDITORIAL: During his recent visit to Quetta accompanied by Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed a grand jirga of tribal elders, highlighting the issue of terrorism backed by India he called 'fitna al-Hindustan' — a reference to insurgent groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which have been involved in a series of high-profile terrorist attacks targeting the security forces, Chinese interests — especially those tied to CPEC — as well as innocent civilians from other provinces.
A few days ago, a suicide bombing on a school bus in Khuzdar claimed six lives, four of them children, and wounded 40 other children. In his conversation at the jirga, the Army chief said that Indian-sponsored proxy war is no longer hidden; it is an open malicious act of terrorism waged on our people, our progress, and our peace. 'We have concrete proof of India's hand behind terrorist networks operating in Balochistan', he averred, adding 'these nefarious attempts of the enemy will fail.'
As a matter of fact, India's role in fomenting terrorism has been an open secret since the ultra-Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
A while ago, his national security advisor had publicly declared his government's new 'Offensive Defence Strategy' aimed at destabilising Pakistan by waging hybrid warfare — inflicting harm on this country without engaging in a direct military confrontation. This the Indian government has been doing by providing funding, arms and training to BLA and other such groups through its intelligence agency RAW operatives, like the naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested while aiding and instigating acts of terrorism in Balochistan.
After the humiliating setback suffered in its 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan, the Modi government has an even stronger urge to try and undermine Pakistan via its proxies, some of whom have no hesitation to show the connection.
The day after cessation of hostilities on May 10, BLA openly asked, in a press release, India to take action against Pakistan, promising to act along with other Baloch militant groups as its 'military arm' on the western side.
India hurts Pakistan to achieve its strategic objective of weakening a traditional rival by exploiting its fault lines. But the current approach to the security environment in that troubled province, to say the least, is unproductive. Use of force for the past two decades has not helped resolve the situation, and calls for course correction.
What is needed is a multi-dimensional approach to address longstanding grievances of the Baloch people, which play into the hands of hostile forces. It is good to note that in his speech to the jirga PM Sharif emphasised the need for talks to bring back those 'misled' by terrorists, and redress the wider issues plaguing the province. That though can happen only if true representatives of the Baloch people are duly empowered to hold meaningful talks with leadership of the dissidents.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
