By Page 3 News Worldwide – International Desk
Fresh allegations have emerged from Baloch nationalist voices accusing Pakistan of siphoning off Balochistan’s vast natural wealth—estimated in the trillions of dollars—to finance militant proxies and destabilise South Asia.
Writing on the anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama attack, Baloch activist Mir Yar Baloch condemned what he described as Pakistan’s “army without uniforms,” alleging that religious militant groups operate as extensions of the state’s security apparatus. The 14 February 2019 suicide bombing in Pulwama, Indian-administered Kashmir, claimed the lives of 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and sharply escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.
Baloch nationalists argue that the attack was not an isolated incident but part of a broader strategy by Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies to wage asymmetric warfare in the region. They allege that groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba act as proxy forces, supported directly or indirectly by the state.
According to the claims, vast revenues generated from Balochistan’s gas and mineral sectors—including daily extraction of 334 million cubic feet of natural gas from Sui—are diverted to fund militant networks and defence expansion, rather than benefiting the province’s local population. Revenues from gold, copper, and coal projects in Saindak, Reko Diq, Chamalang, Mach, Harnai, and Loralai are also cited as sources of funding allegedly used to underwrite militant training and operations targeting India and Afghanistan.
Local leaders further allege that despite decades of extraction, communities in Dera Bugti and Sui lack reliable access to the very gas drawn from beneath their land. Instead, they claim, supplies are routed hundreds of kilometres away to Islamabad, Karachi, and Punjab, reinforcing long-standing grievances over economic marginalisation.
The accusations extend beyond financial exploitation. Following India’s revocation of Article 370 in 2019, Baloch activists claim that digital clocks were installed in parts of Balochistan symbolically counting down to its reversal—an act they interpret as evidence of state-sponsored ideological mobilisation.
Islamabad has consistently denied backing militant groups and rejects claims of systemic exploitation in Balochistan, asserting that development initiatives and security operations in the province are aimed at stability and counterterrorism. Pakistani officials maintain that resource projects are critical to national growth and that insurgent narratives are politically motivated.
However, Baloch separatist voices insist that independence is the only durable solution, arguing that an autonomous Balochistan would dismantle what they term “terror factories” and halt the alleged flow of resources into regional militancy.
The renewed rhetoric underscores how deeply intertwined resource politics, insurgency, and regional rivalries remain in South Asia—where energy wealth, national security, and competing narratives of sovereignty continue to collide.
