“If you want to destroy a nation without war, make its people doubt their identity,” said Confucius. The slow, methodical destabilisation of Pakistan’s most resource-rich but conflict-torn province—Balochistan—seems to follow a similar philosophical playbook, albeit in a modern, hybrid guise. What we are witnessing today in Balochistan is not merely an internal insurgency nor simply the product of historic grievances. It is an externally fuelled and deliberately prolonged conflict—one that bears the unmistakable fingerprints of Indian intelligence operations seeking to weaponise ethnic fault lines to bleed Pakistan from within.

While the world’s attention often shifts from warfronts in Ukraine to Gaza, a quieter war is being fought in Balochistan. On the surface, it manifests as periodic bomb blasts, targeted killings, and attacks on security installations. But beneath these visible events lies a shadow war—one shaped by geopolitical anxieties, proxy warfare, and covert intelligence games that trace their roots across the eastern border. India’s strategic interest in Balochistan is neither ideological nor emotional; it is purely instrumental—disrupt, disorient, and dilute Pakistan’s strategic depth while avoiding direct conflict.

PM meets Iran’s Supreme Leader, discuss bilateral, regional issues

Recent developments have made this agenda clearer than ever. On 7 May, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of airstrikes justified under the pretext of responding to an alleged terrorist attack in IIOK. However, what followed was a decisive and well-calibrated military response by Pakistan in Operation Bunyan al-Marsus. The balance of kinetic engagement left Indian assets heavily damaged, including the confirmed downing of several Rafale jets—a staggering loss by any measure. This........

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