Pakistan is once again during a nefarious and well-orchestrated propaganda blitzkrieg, aimed at delegitimizing its existence, disrupting its internal harmony and imperilling its national unity. The threat this time around is through an axis that is constructed between India and Israel, two states that have always been strategically hostile towards Pakistan though due to different historical and geopolitical contingencies. The most recent variant of this unfriendly alliance can be observed in the so-called Balochistan Studies Project initiated by the MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) web site which is an organization representing the interests of Israel. The given project is not a harmless academic exercise in the quest of objective research, as it is being misrepresented, but an advanced mechanism of the hybrid warfare to create trouble, separatism and ethnic friction in Pakistan. In that connection, the selection of Mir Yar Baloch, a proven pawn and mouthpiece of the Indian interests, as a leader in this project speaks of the highly manipulative and sinister nature of this whole plan. Nothing could be more important than to expose and unmask this malignant campaign as what it really is: part of an orchestrated campaign by the Indo-Israel axis to destabilize Pakistan internally by weaponizing information and exploiting ethnic sensitivities and giving terrorism a fig-leaf of academic freedom and human rights advocacy.
Pakistan faces a coordinated propaganda campaign, primarily led by India and Israel, aiming to destabilize the country through disinformation and hybrid warfare under the guise of academic projects.
India has long been following the policy of intervention in the Balochistan province of Pakistan openly during the years. Whether it is the recorded backing of RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) of insurgent outfits such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) or its on-going propaganda campaign to present Balochistan as a land that is struggling to break free, India has been all over the trouble and violence that has sometimes marked otherwise steady steps towards peace and development in this province.
The detention and subsequent confession by Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian naval officer cum RAW agent who was caught on camera acting in Balochistan, is a jarring reminder of the age-old Indian policy of sponsoring terrorism in Pakistani territory. Now that the think tank of Israel is supporting this so called Balochistan Studies Project the proportions of this campaign have grown even larger. The participation of Israel ought not to be a surprise to anyone who follows events in the international scene. Islamabad has been a geopolitical opponent of the Jewish state due to its principled and unswerving stand on Palestinian issue, its non-recognition of Israel and outspoken criticism of Tel Aviv policies in occupied Palestine. In partnering India in this endeavour, not only is Israel acting in its own strategic interests, but it is also facilitating a wider anti-Pakistan agenda, one which aims at breaking the nation apart, ethnically and sectarian-wise and to delegitimize its valid policies in Balochistan.
The MEMRI-backed Balochistan Studies Project is portrayed as a manipulative tool to incite separatism and ethnic discord in Balochistan, misusing academic language to legitimize anti-state agendas.
This is a partnership between India and Israel that underscores a meeting of strategic interests between two governments with a history of heavy-handed approaches and state repression. The ruthless Indian attack in occupied Kashmir and the widely criticized Israeli aggression in Palestine are the grim reminders of the repressive practices used by the states against the populations, which seek the implementation of fundamental rights and freedoms. Their interest in Baloch separatism in Pakistan, therefore, is not informed by any interests in the well-being of the Baloch people but is simply motivated by their need to destabilize Pakistan strategically. This is a typical example of geopolitical opportunism in which humanitarian discourse is being used sarcastically to camouflage sinister motives. The Balochistan Studies Project, in its turn, is no more than just the newest addition to their arsenal of information warfare the tool that is intended to introduce poisonous narratives into the worldwide discourse on Pakistan, misrepresent facts, and give intellectual justification to acts of terrorism and insurgency against the state of Pakistan.
The especially perilous aspect of this project is that it attempts to use the authority of the academic institutions and think tanks to spread propaganda. It is a well-known fact that by dispensing its agenda in the language of academic study, the project is attempting to mislead the international community, policy makers, and the global media into looking at the Pakistan activities in Balochistan through a warped perspective. It is a systematic process of giving importance to the fringe voices the ones that are in support of the separatist movements or the ones that are aligned with the foreign intelligence agencies- without giving importance to the ground realities of Balochistan where most of the people are still loyal to the Pakistani federation. It ignores the massive investments that Pakistan has put in the development of the province such as the development of infrastructure, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities and the showpiece China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects that are meant to us prosperity in the region. Rather it is selectively presenting a gloomy and distorted image that is helpful to the political aims of India and Israel.
The campaign exploits humanitarian rhetoric to disguise its intent—undermining Pakistan’s efforts like CPEC and state-building by spreading distorted narratives.
Furthermore, this scheme is one of the many networks of disinformation and psychological warfare that are being directed against Pakistan at a very crucial stage of national growth. As Pakistan moves towards more complete inclusion of Balochistan into the Pakistani mainstream, resolution of legitimate local grievances and exploitation of the economic potential of initiatives such as CPEC, malicious external elements are intent on creating disharmony and obstructing these processes. It is common knowledge that a stable, prosperous and united Pakistan spoils their strategic equation. Thus, they are attempting to fan the ethnic revelry, to revive the ghost of separatism and to discredit the process of state-building in Pakistan. Balochistan Studies Project is the intellectual wing of this wider subversive campaign, which pours biased and fabricated narratives into global discourses and encourages anti-state forces inside Pakistan.
What such foreign actors forget however, is the long-standing resilience and patriotism of the Baloch people themselves. Baloch people have time and again make it clear that they do not want foreign influence in their land and that they are part of Pakistan. The observed surge in the number of voters during the elections in Balochistan, the enrolment of Baloch youth in national institutions, and the increasingly popular development projects all indicate that the region, although it does have legitim grievances, essentially wants to be a part of the Pakistan success story, rather than a piece on the foreign geopolitical board. The armed forces, intelligence agencies, and civic administration of Pakistan are very much vigilant to such externally sourced threats and are determined to protect the territorial integrity of Pakistan against any kind of hybrid war.
Despite external interference, the Baloch population shows loyalty to Pakistan through democratic participation and support for development projects, while state institutions remain vigilant against these subversive threats.
It should be emphasized that this Indo-Israeli project is not an isolated case but there is a series of hostile acts towards Pakistan. Whether it is the disinformation campaigns on social media, or diplomatic lobbying efforts in various international forums, the enemies of Pakistan are leaving no stone unturned to paint the country in a bad light and derail its development. The Balochistan Studies Project is just the new battleground of this full-scale war, a war where information is a weapon, and the truth is the first victim. By revealing this project and their real motives, Pakistan is not only protecting itself against propaganda, but it is also protecting the principles of the state sovereignty and the right of nations to decide their destinies without outside interference.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
