Balochistan 'Declares Independence' from Pakistan |Can Islamabad Survive Without It? |WION GAME PLAN

[00:00:00]Baluchojasthan is not Pakistan.

[00:00:01]>> Can Balojasthan declare its own independence?

[00:00:04]>> Of course it can. Balois are totally different, fiercely independent people.

[00:00:08]Maximum resources >> are going from the Balo territory.

[00:00:13]>> Can Pakistan survive without Balojasthan? If the Balo people get what they want, Baloasan is Pakistan's largest province covering over 44% of its total land.

[00:00:25]highly rich in minerals, natural gas, massive reserves of coal, copper and gold as well and it holds the strategic Guadada port which is the cornerstone of the China Pakistan relationship and it also makes it indispensable to both China and Pakistan. But the irony of Pakistan's biggest province is that it is also its poorest and least developed province as Islamabad uses Balojasthan for its richness while it ignores its needs. The Balo resistance against the Pakistani state began in 1947 and still continues and now Balo representative and leader Miyard Balo has declared independence from Pakistan with its own anthem, its own currency and its own armed forces as well. To discuss this further, I'm now being joined by Left General DP Pande, highly decorated officer who served the Indian Army for nearly four decades, former commander of the Chinar Corps of the Indian Army Northern Command. Pleasure speaking with you sir. Thanks so much for joining me here on game plan. Can Balojasthan declare its own independence?

[00:01:25]>> Of course it can. Uh 1947 and before Baluchasthan was a totally different uh state province. In fact it was unlike others in the Indian dominion of British control empire where almost everybody was directly controlled or uh or administered by the British India. But Balojasthan remained totally different.

[00:01:50]It has it had accepted the paramounties paramounty of uh British Empire but uh only the external affairs was being managed internally everything about Balojasthan was being managed by the Baloj people karnat of Kalan and by the way it is the oldest geopolitical entity in South Asia you know which was totally directly administered by a central system by Karati of Galad and bordering certain areas of Pashon and with Afghanistan rest everything was directly controlled by them. So uh that was interesting for 1947. Pretty happy state. There was hardly any challenges. It was surviving on its own with the one of the largest sea you can say connection to coastline about 7 plus 770 km worth of coastline.

[00:02:54]Uh it has got all the elements to survive uh independently.

[00:03:00]>> Uh let me just start. I'll just give a brief couple of points before we get into direct question answers. You know, please understand uh Pakistan is an artificial state, right? It is a congl conglomeration of a couple of very very different entities which was created structured together for a British India colonial mindset and strategic cons uh uh fear I would say uh to keep certain degree of buffer zone from the largest resourcerich area of uh British India as well British India from the Soviet Union because they actually feared the expansion of the communist Soviet >> which had actually beaten them in the second world war in the run to Germany and in fact if you look at the world war II >> technically it was won by the Russians rather Soviets rather than the western.

[00:03:56]So if you go into the history that was a fear and uh while there was a demand by the Muslims the league Muslims of United provinces to have a separate state uh it was this urgent need of the masters of that point of time that got Pakistan created in that point of time even in 1947 when this whole options went around the karnatak of karat said very clearly they don't want to merge with Pakistan they had two opt there's a priority one that they will like to go along with India whatever India forms so but then there was just no land bridge to connect with Baluchistan and of course that part of time our leadership possibly thought >> otherwise but the second part what they said that if it doesn't happen we are distinct from everything else which British have been controlling >> and we will like to go on our own way and we'll be independent right so then of course that whole conspiracy and the way Muslim League went about. We'll not talk of all that.

[00:04:59]>> It was a compulsion that they were stitched together by the Britishers against the against the views against the desires of the Balo people >> and the day in 1947 by the way nowhere else in the British dominion of uh of the Indian subcontinent >> there was an insurgency started game straight away after 1947. Yeah. In 1948 [clears throat] the first set of insurgency movement started against the Pakistani state.

[00:05:27]>> Yeah.

[00:05:28]>> Right. When you compare to the Indian side or anywhere else in the world, nothing of this sort happened. So that clearly showed the aspiration of the people >> to remain uni independent and the way they live and they are quite akin by the way not in terms of uh culture but the way of living from the ponune areas of KPK even in terms of Afghanistan >> very very independently minded tribes they love to live their own life they don't want to concern with the world affairs and uh they I'm quite sure that they could have left and >> so allow me to come in >> what do you require >> yeah allow me to come in there nearly 80 years. It's been since then, eight decades of a struggle and an effort to have their own existence while they're being completely ignored by the Pakistani state. At this point, I wanted to understand from you and this is a battleh hardened race. They've fought and generations have fought. So, it's in their blood. If they decide that they want to have their own state, what is stopping them as of today 2026?

[00:06:29]>> Yeah. So uh okay but I will just tell briefly because this is not the only time they have fought.

[00:06:35]>> The major incency they fought was somewhere in '7s right? Uh they have fought couple of times even 50s they had this issue and this whole thing has been ongoing since 2006 when BI got killed there was a very very veteran respected leader of Burjasthan got knocked off by the Pakistani uh state.

[00:06:55]>> What has changed today? What has changed today are a couple of things you know one is that uh uh generally all the tribes were divided before you know this whole thing started somewhere they took a call about 3 to four years back that divided we'll lose >> uh jointly we may be able to win our respect in the in the with the Pakistanis in the world and that is where the thing started changing today what is happening is that they are carrying of strikes in a simultaneous time frame.

[00:07:30]>> You know the worst insurgency was in one area. So the Pakistanis went there and they suppressed it. Then happened in some other area.

[00:07:36]>> It was quite disorganized. It was quite egoistic of the respective tribal leaders. But this time they have come together >> to fight the Pakistani state. Right?

[00:07:48]That is one part. The second is uh the whole media the social media the the transparency and that is why I like social media a lot or media a lot that this has allowed them to use social media quite aggressively >> to put out their voice into the world and into the environment and also to remain uh resilient together. Right? So while uh disappearances while human rights violations are ongoing all those challenges are there but yet they are able to persevere and put it out into the world uh against the Pakistani state. The third very important issue is that uh this whole harvesting farming of the resources >> which was not so intense let's say about 3 to four decades back >> but in last decade decade and a half since the time CPC has come about >> the development of guadar port has started the Chinese are taking out materials left right and center >> uh they're just taking out everything without the direct benefits coming to the local people >> who are just merely one six of the Pakistani population right 116 6% of population whereas the maximum resources >> are going from the balo territory >> uh so all these things have put a spot >> on Pvasan which virginally controls 44% of >> nearly half of the Pakistani territory what are the challenges and what are the other ongoing challenges if you want to know I can answer those questions well >> I think the Yeah. The first major challenge. Yeah. The first major challenge is I think Iran.

[00:09:29]>> Yeah.

[00:09:29]>> What happens is that while Iran and Pakistan may not get along together >> but there is a significant Balo population which spills across into Iran and Iranians feel that in case Balois get independence it is going to come and hurt and there's a significant terrain and population which is right across towards the Iranians. So that is >> and they have a shared border sir with Afghanistan, Iran and of course they are as of now in Pakistan. So that shared border from both countries will there can be concerns from both sides or is it just Iran?

[00:09:59]>> So I don't think so of Ghanis or Afghans are much concerned because there's a quite fair balance and you know on the older times the concept of borders was not there. It was a frontier concept >> right people could move freely across and they're not looking at leverages they're not looking at nation state the way we look at it today. there's a much more free and flow movement is taking place and therefore with the Afghans I don't think there's a major problem because their borders are still quite open with approaches >> but towards the Iranian side there's a challenge so that is one part the second is uh they don't have a heft >> which is required today in the international environment of the western powers >> which the moment they get that heft and they are able to sell to Trump >> that whatever Pakistan is giving to you I will we will give it to Yeah, >> right. And you understand that the western powers are quite greedy people.

[00:10:51]They can do anything for the resources can be harnessed directly with them and they can create or destroy nations and nation states and travel areas or whatever because if they can get something cheaper direct that's the way to go forward. The third challenge which is happening is that currently the Trump administration which is totally focused with the the Pakistani establishment because of various reasons which is the matter of the debate that will not look at this area with that kind of intensity which is required and the fourth is the control of the Chinese eventually what is happening is the maximum benefit today >> directly from Balo area is going to the Chinese >> absolutely >> right and Chinese do play in a bipolar world or multipolar world a significant say in controlling what's happening in any part of the world. So I think these are few challenges.

[00:11:40]>> They don't have adequate funding. They got a larger area and Pakistani military is brutal. It's not like Indian army or Indian armed forces where you actually carry out operations with both hands tied behind your back and uh with a course and everybody putting on a you know cloth of strip on your eyes and then everybody wants to carry out an operation of counterterrorist or competency operation. But yet things have changed this time and uh Pakistan is on a block on a on a >> on that point sir let let me come in on that point. Uh biggest province of Pakistan the richest province in terms of minerals for Pakistan but as a province it remains the weakest and the poorest in terms of the support it gets.

[00:12:24]Can Pakistan survive without Balojasthan if the Balo people get what they want?

[00:12:30]So look firstly Pakistan today is not surviving it is just managing itself right so Balojasthan or no Baluchistan I don't think Pakistan is a state to be called as worthy of being a state >> right and second is yes Baluchasthan is a huge area lot lot of resources come through it the critical other aspect we don't forget we forget is that Pakist Baluchasthan provides that land bridge to the central Asian public to Afghanistan to that areas And more importantly the coastline which is which any country will desire. While they have other set of port coastline but the deep uh sea port which is actually available is in the Guada side which is which actually remains underdeveloped. But so coming to the point of can Pakistan survive? Yes of course Pakistan can survive. Pakistan should start looking at what it has. Technically if you look at Pakistan is today only Pak Punjab. So Pakistan Punjab should look at what they can do. There are so many other landlock countries which are smaller much much smaller than Pakistan or Pakistan minus Gurjasthan they can survive but the fact remains that Pakistani Punjabis are such big egoistic people controlled by the Pakistani military generals that they don't care about anybody it may be pon it may be Gilgit Pasan it may be Cindis it can be and of course Baloj they don't care right but they would like to harvest they don't look at people they look at resources they look at territories which should be owned and controlled by them yeah so you know I I must say that Baluchasthan is not Pakistan let's be very very clearan is totally distinct from Pakistan there are many entities but when you compare the other entities balois are totally different fiercely independent people uh they are different culturally they are different in the way they and they are very very hardy and good fighters and I really wish them all the very best to win against the Pakistanis and I repeat Baluchistan is not Pakistan.

[00:14:37]>> Left general absolute pleasure speaking with you and as far as the Balo people are concerned it's been decades generations have grown up in their struggle and their fight for freedom.

[00:14:48]They understand hostilities very well.

[00:14:50]for a race like this for Pakistan to be using force to keep them subdued. Uh whether that strate strategy works out for them or before that larger powers take note of what the Balo people are going through at this point. We'll need to wait and watch how this one pans out for both Balojasthan and of course uh the larger state of Pakistan. There will be more to discuss for sure as the headlines keep coming in on what's really taking place in that part of the world. Left General Pande, thank you so much for joining me here on game plan.

[00:15:17]Absolute pleasure speaking with you, sir.

[00:15:20]Thank you.

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