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Pakistan Day, which marks the laying of the foundation for a separate country for Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, is set to be commemorated with a military parade and great patriotic fervour in Islamabad on Sunday (March 23).
Despite all attempts to shine the spotlight on the prowess of the nation's armed forces, the imposing shadow of the disturbing situation in Balochistan will be present.
Hundreds of kilometres southwest of Islamabad, Balochistan is a landscape scarred by enforced disappearances, mass graves, and escalating clashes between separatist insurgents and security forces.
The mosts recent of such clashes– the hijacking of the Jaffar Express– was a stark reminder of the longstanding insurgency in Balochistan.
We take a look at this incident, and the deep-rooted causes behind the restlessness in Balochistan.
The Jaffar Express hijacking
On 11 March 2025, the Jaffar Express, en route from Quetta to Peshawar with over 450 passengers, was seized by militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
The insurgents detonated explosives on the tracks, derailing the train in the rugged terrain near Sibi, leading to a tense standoff.
The Pakistani military launched a rescue operation, resulting in the deaths of 33 militants and 21 hostages, including civilians and security personnel.
While Pakistan claimed it had rescued the remaining hostages, BLA revealed that they had killed all 214 military hostages in the train after their 48-hour deadline to exchange them for Baloch political prisoners expired.
What led to this violence? What unanswered grievances continue to fuel the Balochistan insurgency?
The causes of the insurgency
The roots of Balochistan's insurgency trace back to the region's contentious incorporation into Pakistan in 1948. Many Baloch nationalists have long felt that this integration was coerced, leading to a series of uprisings over the decades.
This sense of alienation has been exacerbated by limited representation in national decision-making processes, fostering a deep-seated desire for greater autonomy or outright independence.
Balochistan is endowed with vast reserves of natural resources, including natural gas, coal, and minerals. Despite this wealth, the province remains Pakistan's least developed region, with high poverty rates and inadequate infrastructure. Many Baloch feel that their resources have been exploited to benefit other provinces (and even other nations like China through the CPEC initiative), leaving them with environmental degradation and scant economic benefits.
The state's response to Baloch demands has often been heavy-handed. Human rights organisations have documented enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and mass graves. The militarisation of the province, under the guise of maintaining order, has further alienated the local population.
A shadow lurks
Amidst military parades and symbolic celebrations on Pakistan National Day, the reality in Balochistan is starkly different– marginalisation, violence, and a widening gulf between Islamabad's official narrative and the lived experiences of ordinary Baloch.
This year, as Pakistan proudly displays its tanks and fighter jets in Islamabad, families of the disappeared gather in Quetta and Khuzdar, demanding answers, hoping against hope for justice and accountability. The international community now faces a moral imperative: to demand transparency and justice for Balochistan, or risk complicity through silence.
The Jaffar Express hijacking is not just another flashpoint—it signifies Pakistan's deepening military crisis in Balochistan and underscores Islamabad's failure to address genuine political grievances through meaningful dialogue.
On this Pakistan Day, Pakistan must introspect: How long can a nation truly celebrate while waging war against its own people?
With inputs from agencies
