The province of Balochistan spreads over an area of 347,188 square kilometres and accounts for 43 percent of the entire country. Balochistan was of great importance to the USSR in her pursuance of the southward drive to gain access to warm waters. Since then, Balochistan has been the focus of foreign intervention due to its geo-strategic placing in the region. The Gwadar port lies at the opening of the Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. It also provides an energy corridor for shipping gas and oil from Central Asian States to the Arabian Sea.
Indians feel threatened by Pakistan’s growing power as well as the speedy progress of CPEC, especially in Balochistan. India is neither happy with CPEC nor the Chinese presence in Gwadar since it is being taken as a threat to the Indian Sea Line of Communication (SLOC) and regional hegemony. The Indian objective is to undermine Pakistan’s economy by disturbing peace in Balochistan and not allowing the development of the Gwadar port to safeguard her SLOC. Furthermore, India is sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan—particularly in Balochistan—by using Afghanistan’s soil and incite a separatist movement by Baloch dissidents abroad.
In fact, the Indian prime minister played the Balochistan card against Pakistan on August 15, 2016, during his Independence Day speech and denounced Pakistan for its so-called human rights abuses in Balochistan. On March 3, 2016, a serving naval officer working for RAW, Kulbhushan Jadhav, was arrested in Balochistan for manning terrorist activities in the province. In a video, he confessed that his purpose was to hold meetings with Baloch insurgents and carry out activities with their collaboration.” He also confessed that his mission was to disrupt CPEC development and destabilise Balochistan by supporting terrorists.
India is fuelling insurgency in Balochistan by funding, training and arming terrorists through active support of its consulates at Jalalabad and Kandahar. India is also trying to create an ISIS chapter in Pakistan and went on to relocate 30 Daesh militants from India to the Pak-Afghan border. In 2014, Ajit Doval, the Indian National Security Advisor, visited Iraq to create an understanding and working relationship with Daesh. India was also behind the Kabul gurdwara attack as well as the Jalalabad prison attack which was claimed by ISIS. RAW has also launched web radio and live podcasts in the Balochi language for online listeners to promote its propaganda campaign. On June 23, 2018, India inaugurated the ‘Free Balochistan’ office in New Delhi which is being run by Baloch dissidents with the support of RAW. Most of the Baloch dissidents who are operating outside Pakistan regularly visit India from where they get orders.
In 2015, Pakistan handed over three dossiers to the then Secretary General, Ban-Ki-Moon, about India’s interference in Balochistan, erstwhile FATA and Karachi. In 2017, another dossier was delivered by Pakistan’s permanent representative Maleeha Lodhi which had proof of Indian interference in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan. In November 2020, yet another dossier was shared with the United Nations, five permanent members of the Security Council and OIC as well. It contained India’s attempts to undermine CPEC and overall Pakistani progress. It was also revealed that the Indian ambassador and consulate general in Jalalabad had been involved in giving financial support to TTP and dissident Baloch elements. India had allocated Rs80 billion (695 million dollars) to raise a militia of 700 people in Pakistan to disrupt CPEC projects.
It was also revealed during the press conference that a former Indian ambassador and an Indian general visited a Baloch training camp in the Haji Gak area of Afghanistan. India supported and funded terrorist attacks on Pearl Continental in Gwadar, the Chinese consulate in Karachi, at Ormara and targeted the Karachi Stock Exchange as well. The suicidal attack on the Baloch leader, Siraj Raisani, which was being controlled from Spin Boldak in Afghanistan, killed 400 innocent people.
The western border is now being fenced –a project worth 532 million dollars. 84 percent of the western border has been fenced and hundreds of border outposts have been created. In Balochistan, Pakistan has also completed a 1100 kilometres long trench, which is 3 meter in depth and about 4 meters in width, along the Balochistan-Afghan Border. The world’s so called biggest democracy has become a rogue state which is fanning state terrorism. The world community needs to take notice of Indian state sponsored terrorism and all the dossiers that contained irrefutable proof of India’s involvement in Pakistan. The Pakistan army is playing a pivotal role for ensuring durable peace and development in the province by protecting national assets and by eliminating the safe haven of terrorists. The whole nation is standing shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani armed forces in their quest to combat terror across Pakistan.