By: Farokh Baloch
If there is to be a parallel drawn between narratives within the dimensions of Pakistan’s ethnic disputes, the line may seem blurred from the larger picture, but if we take a closer look, they are crystal clear. This confusion is intentionally created by the institutions of the state’s machinery with the help of popular liberal personalities (especially those who have criticised the state’s methods and narratives).
Just recently, there were multiple cases of so-called Pakistani liberals and leftists who sympathised with the Baloch cause but have now turned their faces away from genuine voices of Balochistan and started misrepresenting Baloch armed groups. From the viewpoint of Pakistan proper, their arguments and logical fallacies may seem sane, but in Balochistan, nobody is buying them.
Let us study some fallacies and instances of intentional misrepresentations. Pakistan’s most popular liberal podcaster (also a comedian), Shehzad Ghias, made a video dated June 13, 2025, on the Pakistan-India war. In his video, he illogically presented a timeline of the war, where he stated without proof that the true timeline of the war began with the hijack of the Jaffer Express. It is even clear to a deaf and blind person that he, in other words, is stating that India is behind the operation. It is evident that all of the attackers—the leading command, operational commanders, and their helpers—were Baloch. Stating blindly that India was behind it and inducing the operation into the larger picture of lies is indeed a misrepresentation.
Another such case was when another liberal, Syed Muzammil Shah, said that Indian media had invited Baloch fighters to one of their programmes. Then, for proof, he showed a picture of Baloch journalist Bahot Baloch, who covers the armed organisations of Balochistan. This was another lie—another attempt to link the Baloch struggle with foreign powers and a larger game to confuse viewers. There are countless cases where the distinction is clear. Some notable mentions by name: Hamid Mir, Adeel Afzal, Zarrar Khuhro, and Mubashir Zaidi.
Mentioning their narrative-building and misrepresentations is not enough without understanding their main strategy. Whenever we study the histories of armed struggles, the oppressors use similar methods to misrepresent the cause of resistance forces:
- The armed organisations are foreign plots.
- Their sole aim is destruction.
- The reason for local support is only based on terrorising the masses.
- They do not have a genuine cause to fight, but are merely a technical problem.
All of these arguments are tools for the state to launch big operations against the revolutionaries. And this is what their main aim is at this point. Although these methods have been proven effective in a handful of cases, they also have limitations and major indicators of revolutionary wins. The worst—maybe the only—limitation of this counter-revolutionary method is that it creates further distinctions, and with time, its narrators will lose their authenticity. It may be the reason that nobody within Balochistan believes them.
As the whole of Pakistan’s mainstream personalities and media are trying to build false and misrepresented narratives, on the other end, Baloch literaries and revolutionaries have built another discourse within Baloch minds. If we ought to study both on anti-parallel ends, the Baloch revolutionary discourse is far greater than the other. The reason for this success is based on four things:
- The Baloch mind will understand it as it involves their own language and references their own territory.
- It is true that poets and other literaries use exaggerated facts and emotions, but they contain bigger truths.
- They connect the struggle to the martyrs and their sacrifices, which emotionally moves the masses.
- The armed revolutionaries have out-administered the state.
In conclusion, Baloch armed revolutionaries have distracted the state on the military front, and on the discursive front, literaries have won the battle of hearts and minds. Also, due to the exaggerated lies of liberal personalities, leftists, and Pakistan’s mainstream media, a very big gap has been created that cannot be filled without utmost and drastic changes.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.