By Salman Tareen
One of the Pakistani military regime’s most dangerous policies in the region is its attempt to create divisions between the Pashtun and Baloch peoples. It pursues this policy through groups of corruption and chaos, particularly former Arbakis. On the surface, they are presented as measures to suppress opponents of the central government.
In reality, the aim is to weaken the resistance that has emerged against the regime’s long-standing oppression and discriminatory policies.
The Pakistani military regime understands that if the Pashtuns and the Baloch unite against the central government’s unjust policies, the country’s stability would come under serious pressure. That is why it has spent decades following a policy of divide and rule. Through its proxy groups, it tries to manufacture hostility between these two major peoples, hoping to bury the real grievances of neglected regions beneath the label of ethnic conflict and free itself from responsibility for its own oppressive and discriminatory policies.
The Pashtuns and the Baloch are two of the region’s oldest and largest peoples. History does not show them as enemies. On the contrary, they have lived side by side through many periods as natural allies. Tribal marriages, trade, and shared linguistic and cultural traditions have bound them together so closely that any attempt to turn one against the other runs directly against the historical and social reality of the region.
The dissatisfaction seen today among the Pashtuns and the Baloch is rooted in the Pakistani central government’s discriminatory policies, not in ethnic differences. They have been denied their economic rights. Their regions have been deprived of basic development projects. Political freedoms have been suppressed, while local leaders and influential figures have been pushed aside whenever important decisions are made. At the same time, Balochistan’s gas and oil, along with the water and other natural resources of the Pashtun regions, continue to be exploited for the benefit of others. These are the reasons public anger has grown against Pakistan’s military regime.
This resentment is a natural and legitimate response to oppression. It has never been viewed as an ethnic conflict, nor is it likely to be, unless those seeking division succeed in twisting the facts. The Pakistani military regime relies on groups of disorder and corruption, particularly former Afghan Arbakis with a long record of crimes against their own people, to fuel ethnic divisions.
In Baloch-majority areas, members of these groups create insecurity through theft, kidnappings, and acts of sabotage. Their actions provide the Pakistani army with the excuse it needs to move in. The military then presents these operations to the public and the outside world as campaigns against terrorism and efforts to restore order. In truth, many of those branded as terrorists are either members of the same proxy groups or civilians who have been wrongly accused.
The same method is used in Pashtun areas. These groups attack military checkpoints and government installations, giving the army a pretext to launch large-scale operations against the local population.
At the same time, the regime uses its political and media machinery to portray the resulting violence as ethnic conflict. It tries to convince people that the Pashtuns and the Baloch are enemies of one another, while the central government is the only force capable of keeping the peace.
The real purpose behind this policy is to draw attention away from the central government’s structural oppression. Once the problems of Balochistan and the Pashtun regions are presented as ethnic disputes, difficult questions disappear. Why do these regions remain the most deprived parts of Pakistan? Why are their natural resources exploited for the benefit of Punjab and Sindh? Why does the military always choose force over development and reconstruction?
This dangerous game cannot solve Pakistan’s problems. It will only spread instability across the region while creating even greater challenges for Pakistan itself. The claim of ethnic conflict ignores the people’s historical memory. Both the Pashtuns and the Baloch know who their real enemy is. They see the violence carried out by these proxy groups as the result of Islamabad’s own policies, not the product of ethnic rivalry.
This policy also deepens the cycle of violence. It encourages armed groups to believe that force is the only path to resolving disputes. The same evil groups being used today against the Pashtuns and the Baloch could easily become a source of internal conflict inside Pakistan tomorrow.
The claim that the Pashtuns and the Baloch are caught in an ethnic conflict is one of the Pakistani military regime’s biggest political falsehoods. It was crafted to justify its own structural oppression. Both peoples are victims of the same discriminatory policies.
Their dispute is not with one another, but with Pakistan’s central government and its oppressive rule.
Recognizing this reality, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has always stressed unity among the region’s peoples and harmony between its communities. It has never allowed, and will never allow, the enemies’ schemes to damage the deep historical ties that bind these nations together. Public awareness, unity among the people, and solidarity between the nations remain the strongest safeguard against such malicious plots.
