Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), has accused Pakistan’s military establishment of manufacturing and promoting the narrative of ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) as a strategic tool to delegitimise nationalist movements by using the name of the religion.
In an article published in Ispar, a magazine in BLF’s media, Ashob, Dr Nazar argued that the ideological framework presented by ISIS-K is not an organic development but a scripted narrative orchestrated by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing. According to him, the objective is to sway public opinion against national liberation struggles by falsely accusing them of being proxies for foreign powers.
Dr Nazar asserted that the Baloch national struggle for independence is a grassroots movement, supported entirely by the Baloch people and is not dependent on any foreign powers. He described the movement as a pure expression of national sovereignty. He accused the Pakistani state of systematically attempting to destroy Baloch society in order to erase its national identity and turn Balochistan into a permanent colonial outpost.
Dr Nazar also criticised the security framework in Balochistan, stating that it is controlled directly by the military rather than the civilian government. He accused the army of maintaining ties with terrorist groups in order to perpetuate political instability in the region.
These claims reflect longstanding accusations by Baloch leaders and activists who argue that Pakistan’s security establishment uses extremism as a weapon to counter nationalist movements.