Pakistan Army has reportedly unleashed a brutal crackdown on unarmed Baloch protesters in Quetta.
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00:00Back-to-back BLA attacks jolt Pakistan army.
00:14Pakistan's brutal crackdown on Baloch protesters.
00:28Titans wielded, tear gas shells fired.
00:42Internet services suspended in Quetta.
00:52Pakistan's brutal Baloch crackdown, top focus on India First.
01:04Pakistan army is reported to have unleashed its hard state power on unarmed Baloch protesters
01:10seeking the recovery of enforced disappearance victims.
01:15The Pakistan army, according to Dr. Maharang Baloch, she's a Baloch rights activist, in
01:20a statement on social media platform X, opened fire on unarmed protesters.
01:25Now she says one protester is dead, there are several who've been shot at and are injured.
01:31What's the bigger picture that's emerging from Pakistan?
01:33It's a country in turmoil.
01:36Pakistan's Minister of State for Internal Security has been quoted in Pakistani media
01:39as saying, in Pakistan more than 1,000 people have either been killed or injured just in
01:46the past three months.
01:47From the 1st of January 2025, is Pakistan repeating its mistake made in then East Pakistan
01:54before the 1971 war when Bangladesh was born?
01:58Even then Pakistan had unleashed untold brutality on Bengalis in East Pakistan.
02:05Is Pakistan doing the same with the Baloch people right now or preparing to do so?
02:11We debate.
02:12I'm Gaurav Sawant.
02:13As always, let's get started with the headlines on India First.
02:22Fire at the residence of a judge of Delhi High Court.
02:25CJI Collegium orders an investigation of fact finding by the Chief Justice of the Delhi
02:32High Court.
02:33BJP asks, bearer of justice or merchant of injustice?
02:43Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterates zero terror tolerance policy in Jammu and Kashmir.
02:48Says deaths reduced, no incidents of stone pelting.
02:51Mega investment since abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
03:13Rahul Gandhi reignites merit versus caste quota debate.
03:18Says merit system is an upper caste construct.
03:20BJP accuses the leader of opposition and Congress MP of displaying nepotistic and feudal mindset.
03:33Full Nataka on in Karnataka Assembly.
03:36BJP MLA suspended and evicted over honey trap charges.
03:41BJP demands resignation of Chief Minister Sundarabhaiya.
03:50Karnataka Assembly passes 4% minority quota bill as opposition legislators protest.
03:55BJP calls the bill injustice to Dalits and minority appeasement.
04:01Pakistan Army Chief General Asif Munir recently flanked by DG ISI on one side and Pakistan's
04:17Director General of Military Operations on the other demanded clearance for hard action.
04:23He wants Pakistan to be a hard state and he told a meeting of political leaders in Pakistan
04:30and some of whom say that he just wanted them to rubber stamp hard action in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
04:38He wants hard action to be taken or Pakistan to be declared a hard state after Baloch insurgents
04:45hijacked a train and then targeted a convoy of Pakistani security forces in Balochistan
04:50and then a wave of attacks both in Balochistan and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
04:56More than 1,000 Pakistanis have either been killed or injured since January 1 this year.
05:01Some in Pakistan argue that the situation is eerily close to what it was before the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.
05:10But is it reflected in the brutality unleashed in Balochistan today like it was in East Pakistan against the Bengalis then?
05:25A daring train hijack. An attack on Pakistan army convoy.
05:34Days after Balochistan Liberation Army's back-to-back attacks, Pakistan has unleashed a brutal crackdown in Quetta.
05:43Baloch activists were arrested with Pakistan security agencies allegedly firing and tear gas shelling.
05:53In addition, the Pakistani army has launched a severe clampdown with reports of enforced disappearances and movement restrictions.
06:03A high alert has been sounded in the city of Quetta.
06:08Multiple checkpoints have been set up and a heavy deployment of security forces is in place.
06:16The situation worsened earlier when Pakistan police used batons to disperse a peaceful crowd gathered outside the hospital, injuring several women.
06:26This incident occurred after 13 unidentified bodies were secretly buried in Quetta's Qasi graveyard.
06:35The intensifying military operations have resulted in growing civilian casualties and displacement.
06:43Further complicating the already unstable situation in Balochistan.
06:49Local activists and human rights organizations have raised concerns over the increasing militarization of the province and its detrimental impact on the civilian population.
07:03I think all these indications lead to the conclusion that Pakistan has to settle its house in order otherwise the situation will deteriorate in the coming months.
07:14Amidst the unrest, Pakistan has also accused India of fueling unrest.
07:33India has outrightly denied the charges, labelling Pakistan as the biggest sponsor of cross-border terrorism.
07:40India has outrightly denied the charges, labelling Pakistan as the biggest sponsor of cross-border terrorism.
07:49The world clearly knows or knows that the real issue is Pakistan's active promotion and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism.
07:59In fact, this is the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region.
08:04As the unrest continues to escalate, Balochistan remains mired in ethnic tensions and ongoing demands for greater autonomy.
08:15Bureau report, India Today.
08:21So Pakistan has to become a hard state, says General Asim Munir, their army chief.
08:26Many argue that India bombed Balakot and do keep this in mind.
08:30That time Pakistan said only trees were destroyed or crows were killed.
08:34But now Pakistan says the way India bombed Balakot after Pulwama and sent across a very clear message.
08:41Remember, there's been no terror across the length and breadth of our country.
08:46It's restricted to Jammu and Kashmir as of now and as the Home Minister said, hopefully it will be sorted out even there.
08:53But no 26-11, no major terror attacks across the country.
08:57But Pakistan wants to bomb Afghanistan.
09:00But is that likely to boomerang on Pakistan? We debate that.
09:03But before that, in this hard shade of Pakistan, is that hard action on in Balochistan,
09:09firing straight into the crowd of unarmed civilians, killing and injuring indiscriminately?
09:14It hasn't worked in the past. Can it work now?
09:17Joining me on India First is Ahmar Mustaqan. He's a Baloch rights activist.
09:22Qamar Cheema is a strategic affairs analyst in Pakistan.
09:25And Sushant Sareen is a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
09:29Ahmar Mustaqan, we're seeing what Dr Mehrang Baloch has put out and some of the information that's in public domain.
09:35What are you able to pick up? Is Balochistan seeing the first glimpse of the Pakistani hard state, sir?
09:44Yes. Thank you so much.
09:46It is Bloody Friday in Quetta.
09:51They killed three peaceful protesters today and have left several injured.
10:00They were totally peaceful people demanding civil rights,
10:06demanding the rights guaranteed under the constitution of Pakistan.
10:12But they were brutally crushed today.
10:15And the people are sitting outside on Sariab Road in front of the Balochistan University
10:22with the corpses of the loved ones.
10:26I will tell these generals, the GHQ generals, that they are today repeating the operation Searchlight of March 25, 1971.
10:39Fifty-four years has passed and much Baloch blood has flowed down the Boland River.
10:48We are now, have reached a point, we don't want one single Pakistani troop on Baloch land.
10:56And we are going to repulse them. We have decided.
11:01Okay. Qamar Chima, is this the hard state that General Asim Munir was talking about?
11:06Is this the hard state that he wants Pakistan to be? Fire at unarmed civilians, as Dr Mehrang Baloch put it,
11:13or seek power to arrest and keep in military prison without perhaps judicial and political oversight?
11:24Sorry. Well, I think there is a clarity in Pakistan and that is those who are sympathizers, abaters,
11:30financers, supporters of the terrorist organizations, they will definitely be dealt with the iron hand.
11:37And on this question of this hard state, where the military and the government do believe that we need to act aggressively
11:46in terms of development, in terms of winning hearts and minds, and in terms of using force against the terrorists.
11:53So, Pakistan's approach regarding hard state is very clear, that these terrorists who have been continuously financed,
12:01continuously been supported by India, where the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did accept at the Sharmul Sheikh
12:08that we will look into this matter. But after that, the late Prime Minister was put in dock, in fact, when he came in India.
12:18So, we are still asking the Indian government that stop supporting these terrorist organizations, stop bringing their people on the TV.
12:26Sometimes you blame Afghanistan, sometimes you blame India, sometimes you blame Iran.
12:31At least look into your own eyes. I mean, sir, at least sometimes you will feel a little ashamed.
12:37At least sometimes you will feel a little ashamed.
12:39When do you feel ashamed, man?
12:40Where do so many people die here and there?
12:43You blame the neighbor by slapping his chest. But let me bring in Sushant Sareen.
12:47And you lie about the Fauji boot ban. And what does your shame have to do with it?
12:51You know, I want to bring in Sushant Sareen because Pakistanis, as far as I am concerned,
12:56you know, they are liars and liars of the highest order.
13:00And you know, when 250 Pakistani soldiers were held hostage, well, they got what they deserved, as many in Balochistan say.
13:09But Sushant Sareen, is this the Pakistani hard state? Hard action against unarmed Baloch civilians,
13:15which Pakistanis will term as terrorists like Kamar Chima was just doing?
13:20Yeah, Gaurav, you know, one is that the Punjabi colonial mindset is being reflected on your channel right now.
13:28Now, the thing is that partly they have a problem of comprehension, which is why they say,
13:33at one level, they say we want to win hearts and minds of the people.
13:37And at another level, they say we want to be a hard state, we'll crack down.
13:40What have they been doing for the last 25 years?
13:43They've been rigging every single election in Balochistan, right? So, there's no democracy out there.
13:48They've installed their puppets out there. So, you know, the army calls all the shots.
13:54The local FC guy and the corps commander in Quetta, they call all the shots.
13:58Captains and majors order these so-called ministers and these so-called tribal chieftains around.
14:05So, there is nothing of civil society left in Balochistan. There is no media operating in Balochistan.
14:11There are thousands of people who have gone disappeared. Many of them, there are mass graves being found in Balochistan.
14:17They have been catching hold of people and summarily executing them.
14:22So, what else does a hard state do? There is no law. There is no order.
14:27There is no constitutional system in Balochistan. There is no justice in Balochistan.
14:32And yet their army is being killed. They are being slaughtered. They are being slaughtered left, right and center.
14:38But yet they do all this. They have been doing it for 25 years. Fat lot of good it's done to them.
14:43They can do some more. I don't think it's going to help them too much. It's only going to alienate the people even more.
14:49So, Gaurav, one second, I'll tell you one final thing. Psychologically, I think the Baloch have already seceded from Pakistan.
14:56Apart from, you know, a peasling like this Sarfaraz Bukti or that other, they have got that Anwar Kakar.
15:05There is nobody in Balochistan who speaks in favor of Pakistan. Physically, it will probably be a struggle and it will take time.
15:12But psychologically, I think the secession has taken place.
15:15Okay. M. R. Mustaqan, is that also your appreciation? Because, look, why I am asking the Baloch people this is because
15:22there have been multiple waves of Pakistani atrocities in Balochistan which is recorded in history.
15:29You know, so that Kamarchi man, I am sure Kamarchi Ma, you have read about General Tikka Khan.
15:34Why he was known as the butcher of Balochistan. We don't call him that and again you will blame India.
15:39India called him butcher of Balochistan. We did not. The Pakistanis know him as butcher of Balochistan.
15:44He was incidentally the same butcher of Bangladesh. You lost East Pakistan because of people like him.
15:49Are you on the verge and I want to first bring in M. R. Mustaqan. So, Tikka Khan was butcher of Balochistan.
15:55Jail Musharraf used heavy weapon. ATGMs we had told against Nawab Akbar Bhukti.
16:01Could Asim Munir, General Asim Munir be Jail Tikka Khan 2.0, the new butcher of Balochistan?
16:07Yeah. See, the thing is this is the fifth attempt by the Baloch to regain their statehood.
16:16There have been four previous uprisings and this is the fifth one and it is running now for almost 20 years.
16:24Now it is, you see, very mature. The youths of Balochistan, I salute them.
16:30All our youths, whether they are men or women, the girls and the boys, they are ready to confront the brutal enemy.
16:39That brutal enemy does not understand the geography, where Punjab ends and where Balochistan begins.
16:46And we are going to teach them the lesson of geography.
16:50They have forgotten the lesson of history in Bangladesh. We are going to reteach them that lesson now.
16:57You see, this nonsense of hard state. He came to Parliament and talk about hard state.
17:04And the better Sharif, which is Mr. Nawab Sharif, he did not attend that. He did not attend that.
17:11He doesn't like this, his younger brother, who has become total toady of the GHQ.
17:17And I'll tell you one thing. What we have heard is that the core commander in Quetta, he does not agree with what they are doing.
17:26But the sector in charge of the ISI and the three guys that you mentioned, the two guys which were sitting with this Asim Munir,
17:35they all believe in just using brute force. They have used brute force and where have they reached?
17:42I want to put that question to Qamar Cheema. Sir, you know what happened with General Tikka Khan's actions in Balochistan.
17:52You know what happened after General Parvez Musharraf's actions in Balochistan.
17:56What does General Asim Munir intend to do differently this time in Balochistan?
18:02And is the problem even larger this time? Because Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also on fire.
18:08So there are two fronts and there's some conversation, sir, that Pakistan intends to use air power against Afghanistan.
18:15Would that be opening a third front? And can you afford to do that, sir?
18:19Well, I think there is a clarity that to bring order in the country, the nation or the armed forces
18:27or the government will use every option in the arsenal. That is a clarity.
18:31But let me assure you, we will not use force disproportionately the way you used in the Red Corridor, Manipur and Kashmir.
18:38The way human rights organizations have been talking about India, we will not use force that way.
18:46We will only use force where it is necessary. Let me tell you, we will not commit atrocities the way you did in Manipur.
18:55Come on, sir. Have a heart. Have a heart.
18:57The European Union did say that.
19:00Sir, everyone comes to our country. No one comes to your country.
19:02The entire European Union was here in our country. Come on, man. Come on, Cheema.
19:06In Manipur, in India, there was a brutal use of force.
19:09Please, at least try to be taken seriously.
19:11I can tell what is happening by your shouts and screams.
19:14Seriously.
19:15Your shouts and screams in Manipur.
19:17Shouts and screams in our country?
19:19Sir, the world is coming to us.
19:22Many people ask me why I bring guests from Pakistan. It's for comic relief.
19:28It's only for comic relief. We'd like to have some jokers on air.
19:32But, Sushant Sareen, for the serious aspect of this,
19:36Qamar Cheema will make jokes, but then Pakistan has become a joke.
19:40Sushant Sareen, they did a Zarb-e-Azm.
19:43They did a Radd-ul-Fazad.
19:45Then they did a Azm-e-Istikam.
19:47And then their army chief, who's quite like a Maulana,
19:50says something to the effect that these are all Khawarij or some Kharjis.
19:56Whatever that may mean.
19:57You'd expect a military officer to go fight war instead of preaching from the pulpit,
20:01but that's exactly what he intends to do.
20:03But tell me this, can they take on the might of the Baluch, the Pashtuns,
20:07who are now better armed, better trained, better motivated?
20:10What's your appreciation of the situation on ground?
20:14So, Gaurav, here is the thing.
20:16One, you know, yeah, I think you're right.
20:18You get these guys from Pakistan.
20:20Just the other day when the train hijacking took place,
20:23we were told that people don't travel in a train without a convoy
20:27and that this is fake news.
20:29And then, of course, we know how many people from the army were in that particular convoy.
20:33So, I don't want to get into debate with these guys, but on your question.
20:36Look, here is the thing.
20:38The Baluch, I think, the kind of ferocity, audacity they have shown,
20:43the kind of organization they have shown, I don't think has any parallels,
20:48at least insofar as the previous five insurgencies in Balochistan is concerned.
20:52The kind of footprint they have, their presence in virtually every district now of Balochistan
20:58and the kind of firepower they have at their command, the kind of training they are displaying.
21:03So, that is one part of it.
21:04But look, let's be realistic.
21:05The numbers are small.
21:07So, in a sense, it does not take too much for the Pakistan army to come in
21:11and carry out the most unspeakable crimes, something like what they did in Bangladesh,
21:16and try and wipe out the Baloch to save Balochistan.
21:19They don't give a damn about the Baloch.
21:21They want the territory, they don't want the people.
21:23So, they will try that.
21:25But what helps them is, number one, the landmass, which the terrain helps the Baloch, number one.
21:31Number two, Pakistan is a broke country.
21:34It has no money left in its country.
21:36So, that is the second thing.
21:38Now, this war of attrition can completely exhaust the Pakistani state.
21:42Number three, there is a massive insurgency taking place up north on the borders with Afghanistan
21:49and with the Taliban.
21:52So, that is the third thing.
21:53Fourth, the Punjabi is so greedy that they want to now steal the water of Sindh.
21:59So, they are now making canals in the desert.
22:03These are up in arms and even that is happening.
22:06Sir, we are feeling good.
22:08Sir, trust me.
22:10Sushant Sarin will tell you.
22:13We are sitting at home and enjoying a lot.
22:16No, no, Sushant Sarin will tell you.
22:19You know, there are some people who watch OTT.
22:24We watch Pakistani news.
22:26Trust us.
22:27That's far more entertaining than any OTT.
22:29But, okay, Sushant Sarin wants to complete his point.
22:33Sushant Sarin wants to complete his point.
22:35Sir, you want to sell conflicts and corner plots.
22:38You wait.
22:39Sushant, complete your point, sir.
22:41I think it's very clear.
22:43I don't like the Pakistanis because they are treacherous and they have betrayed everybody.
22:48So, I make no bones about it.
22:50This is an objective analysis based on the objective realities.
22:55And frankly, I shed no tear for these guys because of the kind of brutalities and the kind of murder, mayhem and genocides these guys have committed.
23:04Especially these Punjabi Muslims who try and make better Muslims of everybody else but they are the most third rate Muslims in this subcontinent of ours.
23:12Right? These are the guys who go to Mujras and they do all kinds of evil things and then they try and convert everybody to Islam.
23:19So, I have no truck with these guys and I make no apologies for it and I say things as they are.
23:25Now, somebody like neo-converts like this Cheema fellow, they have some, you know, fire up their backsides, they can have it.
23:32But it does not bother me.
23:34I am giving you an objective reality of what the situation on the ground is.
23:38MR, is that also your appreciation?
23:41Because Pakistan army, very frustrated.
23:44I'll tell you why.
23:45They haven't won a single war.
23:4747-48, they lost. 65, they lost. 71, they lost half their country.
23:51Kargil, they lost. They went running to America.
23:54Siachen, they lost.
23:55Even terror war, terror that they knew best, they've even lost there.
24:00The only people they can fight, they've lost Balochistan so far.
24:04But in Balochistan, they now have Chinese satellites, Chinese weapons, some intelligence that may come from them.
24:12Would that be a challenge for the Balochs and our Balochs and KPK Pashtuns fighting together and those canals of Sindh?
24:21Can that be another fire for Pakistan army to handle?
24:26See, Gaurav, I'll mention one thing.
24:29The only legitimacy that they say they have to come into Balochistan uninvited was the forced annexation.
24:39If you look at the instrument of accession that they forced on gunpoint, they got the signature from the Khan of Qalat.
24:47It is a ridiculous document.
24:49The Khan of Qalat's signature is on one day, and that criminal of history, Jinnah, his signature is on another day.
24:59That itself reveals the fraudulent, the forced annexation of Balochistan.
25:06They have no right to be in Balochistan.
25:09I've run out of time on this part of the show and Kamal Jinnah, we'll get you back for another conversation and to know more about what's happening in the Pakistan army.
25:21I'll tell you why.
25:22Because the Pakistan army is selling corner plots and conflicts and cement and an army that sells corner plots and conflicts and cements cannot be a professional army to fight a war.
25:32What happens to the Pakistan army in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh in the months ahead.
25:38We'll be tracking that story very very closely.
25:41Perhaps even with conflicts.