On the hills of Balochistan, what was supposed to be a routine ride on the Jaffar Express on March 11, 2025, quickly turned into the battlefront of a proxy war. The Peshawar-bound passenger train was commandeered by militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), taking hostage hundreds of civilians in a 36-hour drama that shook the entire country. It was one of the boldest strikes in the recent history of Pakistan, and as the dust settled after “Operation Green Bolan,” when 346 hostages were freed and 33 terrorists eliminated by Pakistan’s security forces, Islamabad knew where this measured violence came from. The fingers pointed towards the east, towards India. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that India was the primary patron of this and all other terrorist attacks in Balochistan. It was not a singular attack but part of an ongoing campaign, sponsored by the state, aimed at destabilizing Pakistan through violence, insurgency, and propaganda.
For years, Pakistani officials have consistently said that India is stoking the fires of separatist insurgency in Balochistan, but the recent escalation of BLA attacks has reinforced it as a fact with fresh urgency. In 2024 alone, the BLA and associated groups launched more than 150 attacks, many of them targeting Pakistan’s security personnel, civilian infrastructure, and Chinese workers involved in major development initiatives. In August, simultaneous attacks on police stations, highways, and rail tracks killed at least 73 people in one day, ranking among the bloodiest days of Balochistan in recent history. Several months later, in November, suicide attacks and gun firings by BLA militants killed dozens more, further escalating the crisis. These are not isolated insurgent raids; they are acts of war enabled by Indian intelligence to weaken the sovereignty of Pakistan and interrupt its advances. Each attack brings national grief and reproach, but also greater examination of the networks of money and direction behind these operations.
The evidence presented by Pakistani officials is compounding. After the Jaffar Express hijacking, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that Pakistan had concrete evidence of the role of Indians. Intercepts during the attack showed that the militants were getting real-time information from Afghani-based handlers. These handlers, according to Pakistani intelligence, are not rogue elements but officials linked to India’s intelligence outfit, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had released a stern statement that India had once again proved its deep engagement in masterminding terrorism within Pakistani soil. In spite of denials by the Taliban regime and ordinary dismissals by New Delhi terming it as “baseless,” the consistency and nature of Pakistan’s evidence, from communication records to salvaged weaponry, leave no room for doubt. India’s surreptitious trace in these terror activities is apparent, and Pakistan is more determined to reveal it before the international community.
The present spate of BLA violence is only the next installment in a longer series of subversion dating back to the arrest of Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav in 2016. Jadhav, caught red-handed in Balochistan, was found to be a regular Indian officer working under a pseudonym. His video-recorded confession described the way he counseled and funded terrorist activities in Pakistan, specifically helping separatist outfits such as the BLA. India’s contention that Jadhav was a retired businessman who was illegally kidnapped didn’t stand after mounting evidence, such as his conviction on charges of espionage and recorded connections to RAW. Pakistan officials often invoke his case as undeniable evidence that India is presently involved in destabilizing Pakistan by sabotage and terrorism.
India’s aggression is not covert alone. The policy of “Defensive Offense,” openly espoused by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, open-source advocates using subversion and internal destabilization against Pakistan. Since Modi came to power, India’s policy has turned ever more violent and ideologically charged. New Delhi’s strategists have deepened spy networks, subsidized dissidents, and mounted false flags in the name of democracy and regional security. In 2024, even The Guardian reported that Indian intelligence officials had admitted off-the-record to overseeing operations targeting Pakistani nationals on Pakistani soil. This level of brazenness reflects a state strategy of hybrid warfare: destabilize Pakistan through proxies like the BLA while maintaining diplomatic deniability.
Modi’s 2016 Independence Day speech further confirmed Pakistan’s suspicions when he explicitly referenced Balochistan and thanked its people for supporting India. This unprecedented mention of another sovereign nation’s province from the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort was condemned as open interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs. Modi’s remarks validated Islamabad’s assertions of Indian meddling. Around that time, Indian politicians affiliated with the ruling BJP began openly advocating for Baloch “freedom” and suggested the breakup of Pakistan. These assertions were more than words; they were confessions of a belligerent policy to undermine Pakistan by funding separatism.
On the ground, Pakistan’s security institutions have mapped a continuous flow of weapons, money, and training from India into BLA networks. RAW’s modus operandi has only evolved, employing smugglers and front NGOs to deliver aid to militants. A significant breakthrough in December 2023 was the surrender and admission of Sarfaraz Bangulzai, a top Baloch insurgent commander, of Indian funding and coordination of BLA activities. His report laid out how RAW agents had kept encrypted contact with BLA commanders, organized logistics support, and even treated injured terrorists in Indian hospitals under assumed names. This is not indirect support; it is terrorism sponsorship of the full spectrum.
The denials by India of these claims form part of its wide-ranging disinformation campaign, which has been exposed several times. The investigation by EU DisinfoLab in 2020 discovered that India was operating more than 750 imposter news websites to discredit Pakistan internationally. These sites promoted made-up news, alleged human rights violations that were exaggerated, and advocated for the BLA as freedom fighters. In 2024, Meta removed inauthentic accounts traced to India numbering thousands that were overwhelming social media with anti-Pakistan disinformation. During the Jaffar Express attack, Pakistani officials noticed that Indian media blindly echoed the BLA’s narrative, even airing edited footage to demonize Pakistan. These concerted activities aimed at influencing global opinion are not coincidences; they are India’s hybrid war to undermine Pakistan from within and outside.
In spite of these incessant attacks and information warfare, Pakistan has been remarkably resilient. The quick and professional action of the military during the Jaffar Express hijack rescued hundreds of lives and sent a message that the state is awake and alert. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the bravery of the forces and again asserted that Pakistan will not calm down until terrorism is wiped out of Balochistan. Rather than splitting the country, such attacks have made it more united. Even within Balochistan, the mood has shifted. The majority of citizens shun the BLA’s bloody agenda, particularly as more evidence comes to light of India’s involvement in manipulating and weaponizing local feelings for geopolitical purposes.
Pakistan has brought its cause to the international arena. In the United Nations, Pakistani diplomats laid out detailed dossiers revealing the external manipulation behind BLA terrorism, establishing that India’s hybrid aggression campaign is not only a regional concern but poses a threat to global peace and stability. For Pakistan, it is a battle for sovereignty and security. And it is a struggle that it is winning, diplomatically, militarily, and morally.
India can keep on thrusting its undeclared war, but Pakistan has signified its intention that it will not be destabilized. With unity at home, increasing international backing, and unshakeable resolve, Pakistan is resisting this foreign-funded terror.
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