ISLAMABAD: Renowned analyst Abdullah Khan, speaking on Buraq Digital’s podcast, stated that Balochistan holds immense global importance due to its geography.
Reflecting on history, he explained that during the 1960s and 1970s, pro-Russian countries leveraged Balochistan to receive funding for guerrilla warfare.
Later, when Russia invaded Afghanistan, the nearest access point to warm waters was Balochistan’s coast. Even today, Balochistan remains the shortest route for Central Asian states to access the sea.
The province hosts not only the Gwadar Port but also the Jiwani and Pasni ports.
Through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Balochistan is directly linked to China.
While Sindh is also a coastal province, Balochistan boasts the longest coastline in Pakistan. Due to its strategic southern routes and China’s growing involvement, rival powers like India and the US are increasingly active in the region.
Khan emphasized that Russia once promoted communism as a pathway to reach warm waters.
Although communism has mostly vanished, its ideology still lingers in Balochistan, with groups like BLA and BYC referring to themselves as “comrades.”
On the other hand, China, as a socialist power, seeks to use this route for trade, but faces opposition from India, the US, and other global players.
Abdullah Khan highlighted that Gwadar Port lies close to the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of the world’s oil supply passes—further increasing Balochistan’s geopolitical and geostrategic significance.
Despite these advantages, Balochistan’s people have not reaped its benefits.
Like Pakistan’s role in the US-Soviet and NATO wars, which brought more harm than gain, Balochistan today is suffering under foreign proxies and power struggles.
Abdullah Khan also mentioned that Army Chief Field Marshal General Asim Munir had warned during a meeting with former US President Trump that worsening conditions in Iran could allow groups like BLA and BLF—active in both Pakistan and Iran—to establish strongholds, making it difficult for the military to maintain control and pushing the region toward instability.
He recalled how such groups once operated freely under Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai’s regimes in Afghanistan, causing both Afghanistan and Pakistan to suffer.
He concluded by saying Balochistan has effectively become a global chessboard, with various powers moving their pieces. According to him, opposing forces want to destabilize both Pakistan and Iran.
Drawing a comparison, he pointed out that just as the Baloch people are spread across Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, the Kurds span Syria, Iraq, and Turkey.
He noted that in Syria, the government was overthrown and Kurds were brought to power—something that didn’t succeed in Iran and Turkey. He also mentioned a suicide bombing in Balochistan last year carried out by a person with a Kurdish name, which was celebrated by Kurdish groups.
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He added that although Kurdish forces have now surrendered, and their leader sent a message of capitulation from jail, the global powers pulling the strings behind both Kurdish and Baloch militants remain the same.
