Perfect time to break Pakistan into four parts.

Pakistan’s Role in Pulwama Terror Attack

The 2019 Pulwama attack was planned and executed by the Pakistani JeM, killing 40 Indian CRPF soldiers. The radicalization and training of the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar was carried out in Pakistan and the logistic and financial support came from Islamabad. Even though the world condemned it, Pakistan disavowed any role on the pretense of there being “non-state actors” covering up terrorists. The attack revealed Pakistan’s deep-stated strategy to carry-out proxy warfare and destabilize India, without being held accountable. India provided incontestable evidence such as intercepts and trail of funds, but Pakistan’s military establishment stuck to its policy of plausible denial.

India’s Strong Military Response

As a revenge, India carried out aerial attacks against JeM’s Balakot terror camp in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – the first cross-border air strike since 1971. The precision strike brought down important infrastructure, it killed many terrorists. India struck back with an aerial battle which saw it shoot down one of the F-16s and capture pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was later on released as an act of de-escalation. India also withdrew the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, made enormous levies, and tightened diplomatic isolation: FATF grey-listing of Pakistan for terror financing.

Balochistan’s Ongoing Freedom Struggle

Balochistan is a bed of opposition to Pakistan’s oppressive occupation. The excess human rights incidents committed by the Pakistani military involve enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and exploitation of Baloch resources. China’s CPEC projects keep the fires of resentment blazing as the locals get nothing but lands being grabbed. The same Baloch insurgent groups such as BLA and BRAS do not give up armed struggle against Pakistani forces and Chinese interests. India has diplomatically supported the rights of Baloch, with PM Modi bringing to the limelight Pakistan’s atrocities in 2016. Struggle for independence in the region sees its strength, jeopardizing the fragile unity in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Hypocrisy on Terrorism

Pakistan cries foul by accusing India of supporting Baloch militants while its ISI nurtures terror groups such as JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen. The Pulwama attack was a direct consequence of state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan. Pakistan is still a safe refuge for jihadists who are used by it as strategic assets against India and Afghanistan even under FATF’s glare. The global community should realize the duplicity of Pakistan that presents itself as the victim of terrorism while being its chief exporter. The surgical strikes taken by India and its diplomatic pressure on Pakistan has brought the terror infrastructure of Pakistan to light, but more global action is needed.

Future of Balochistan & Regional Stability

Balochistan’s freedom struggle is moving forward, with growing international spotlight on the atrocities of Pakistan. But if Balochistan becomes independent, it will undermine Pakistan’s economy and interfere with the plans of China’s belt and road. India should continue to stand with the voices of Baloch and at the same time keep military deterrence against the Pakistan sponsored terror. The only long-term solution is the accountability of Pakistan or its Balkanization in the long-term as its artificial borders crumble under strife between ethnic groups and economic calamity. It is no longer possible for the world to overlook Pakistan’s role of a rogue state spawning terrorism.