International politics is a ruthless game and sentimentality or morality has little place in diplomacy when there is the burden of protecting the interests of your people on your shoulders. Ahmar Mustikhan from Balochistan gained a fair bit of popularity in India when he started speaking vocally in favour of India against Pakistan and against the oppression the Balochs are experiencing under the Pakistani regime.

Dear Pakistanis: My soul feels so good whenever I say Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Please try — Ahmar Mustikhan (@mustikhan) August 13, 2016

Mustikhan even claimed to be a Hindu on Twitter.

I am very humble to be Hindu atheist, for Hinduism is a religion of humility — Ahmar Mustikhan (@mustikhan) March 20, 2018

Mustikhan received much support from people in India and even appeared on a Times Now debate. And at the time, his intentions appeared honest.

But as it turned out, as it so often does, there is much more to an individual than meets the eye. He took to Twitter recently to accuse RAW of murdering Balochs and India of committing a genocide in Kashmir.

Happy Ramadhan Mubarak to Muslims all over the world, specially Baloch Muslims languishing under Pakistan military boots & Kashmir Muslims facing genocide in India — Ahmar Mustikhan (@mustikhan) May 17, 2018

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He didn’t stop at that and went on to legitimize Islamic terrorism against Hindus.

My message to RAW is clear: If Indian army kill one Muslim in Kashmir then Muslims all over India have a right to kill 10 Hindus. https://t.co/vD4NtzZ3TF — Ahmar Mustikhan (@mustikhan) May 17, 2018

And he can also be seen supporting a man who wished for the assassination of Prime Minister Modi.

Threats & intimidation to @VORdotcom by @BJP4India over his artful tweet on Mother’s day shows India has a long way to go before becoming civil & showing respect to freedom of expression @Javedakhtarjadu@BDUTT@RanaAyyub — Ahmar Mustikhan (@mustikhan) May 17, 2018

It is natural to wonder then how did a man transform so radically within the space of a year. Of course, many things could have contributed to his transformation but there are a few obvious ones that come to mind. It is, of course, possible that the man has received threats from the ISI or the Pakistani Army which has scared him enough to rant against Indian institutions to please them. Or, he has been offered a lucrative deal by Pakistani agencies. However, the most likely possibility remains that he desired or sought something from the Indian government or authorities but his requests or demands were not entertained.

Mustikhan’s recent transformation is, however, no reason for Indians to wish ill upon the Balochs. They have been experiencing a lot of horror with a series of atrocities committed upon them by the Pakistanis against which they have been campaigning extensively but at the same time, Indians should be careful about getting emotionally invested with the concerns of any particular foreign population however aligned they may appear to our interests. In the arena of international politics, the interests of our people and our nation transcend everything. And we should be supporting the Balochs as long as it suits the interests of our people. And as it so appears, it does suit us to support their cause at the moment.

In his 2016 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi did rake up the Balochistan issue. However, the Indian government has gone quiet on the matter as of now. India should be using the Balochistan issue to further its own national interest and not put ourselves in a situation or try to force our politicians into a situation where the matter could hurt our interests. Emotions hardly have a place in politics and with good reason.