It was April 2014. I was admitted in Agha Khan Hospital Karachi after surviving a lethal assassination attempt on my life. Six bullets were pumped in my body when I was going to the offices of Geo Television from Karachi airport. Four bullets were removed but two were still in my body. My journalist colleagues and family members openly blamed the then head of a security agency for that attack on my life. It was an open secret that security agencies were angry with me over my stance on enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Baluchistan. One day an elderly Baluch human rights activist Mama Qadeer Baloch came to see me in hospital. He said “we know that you paid the price for speaking against injustice with us, we know that you became voice of the voiceless people of Baluchistan despite many threats, we have no words for thanking you and we can’t do anything for you except praying for you”. I was not in a position to speak. Some tears surfaced in my eyes as words of thanks and both of us started weeping.

Tears also came out from the eyes of Mama Qadeer Baloch and he said “people ask me that you came out on the roads because security agencies killed your son but what’s the problem of Hamid Mir, why is he fighting for the missing persons of Baluchistan?” I told Mama Qadeer in a very weak voice that it was my duty to report facts and background of your historical long march from Quetta to Islamabad to highlight the issue of missing persons. Secondly, I inherited the pain for missing persons from my late mother. She lost many family members in 1947. My grandmother (Nani) was kidnapped by rioters who attacked a convoy of refugees going from Jammu to Sialkot. Two little brothers of my mother were killed in front of her eyes. My mother saved her life by hiding under the dead bodies of her relatives. My grandfather (Nana) tried his best to find out his wife but failed. I always saw my mother crying on some Sufi shrines and praying for the return of her mother and that’s how I developed a pain inside my heart for missing persons.

Mama Qadeer Baloch removed his tears with his right palm and said “ohh this is a rare connection of pain between Kashmir and Balochistan”. I told him that may be there is a connection of pain in your view but we cannot compare Kashmir with Baluchistan. Whenever I wrote something or spoke something about injustice in Baluchistan some self-proclaimed patriots and pro-establishment elements in Pakistani media started spiting venom against me by saying that I speak for Baluchistan but I don’t speak for Kashmir and alleged that “Hamid Mir is an Indian agent”. They made these allegations despite the fact that I have always discussed Kashmir dispute from all angles. I always took a stand that there is no comparison between Kashmir and Baluchistan. Pakistani establishment often used “India card” to silence voices of dissent in Baluchistan. I also raised questions about foreign interference in Baluchistan but my focus was not only India. Sometimes I tried to understand the US interest in Baluchistan.

I once wrote an article in The Hindu and claimed that India may not play the Baluchistan card openly because “Keeping in view the sensitivity of the problem, it is difficult for India to openly support the Baloch insurgency because it may harm its relations with Iran. If Indians come out openly in support of the BLA, anti-Indian elements in Pakistan will quickly bracket New Delhi with the alleged great game of the US against Iran”.

I was right in 2009 because Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister of India. I am wrong in 2016 because Narendra Modi is Prime Minister of India. May be the PM is not aware that many Baloch militant outfits want to unite Pakistani Baluchistan with parts of Sistan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran where India is building Chabahar port. Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) active in Pakistani Baluchistan is an ally of Jindullah and Jaishul Adl active in Irani Balochestan. American writer Mark Perry claimed in Foreign Policy Magazine (January 2012) that Israeli Intelligence agency Mossad’s agents posing as CIA operators were recruiting Baluch boys in Pakistan to destabilize Irani Baluchistan.

US media exposed links of Jindullah with CIA many years back and after that Iranian intelligence developed relations with Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda to counter CIA sponsored insurgency in its Baloch areas. The supporters of “Independent Baluchistan” want to revive the Baluch State which was once recognized by Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan in an agreement with Khan of Kalat Mir Naseer Khan Baloch in 1758. This agreement recognized the territory under the rule of Kalat from Quetta to many parts of current Irani Baluchistan including Bandar Abbas. Mir Naseer Khan Baloch extended his support to Ahmad Shah Abdali in the third battle of Panipat in 1761 against Hindu Marhatas and battle of Mashhad in 1769 against Persian Safvids.

People should also read a book “Raiders of the Sarhad” written by infamous Gen Dyer who was responsible for the massacre in Jalianwala Bagh in 1919. British government sent him to Irani Baluchistan in 1916 to suppress the resistance of Baloch tribes who were trying to establish a separate State including areas of British Balochistan and Irani Baluchistan with the help of Germany. In fact the separatists active in Pakistani Baluchistan have been helped but indirectly it has strengthened the cause of those Baloch rebels who want separation from Iran.

The Indian PM actually tried to divert the attention from Jammu and Kashmir by playing the Baluchistan card but I think in a way he helped Pakistan establishment. Pakistan’s ruling coalition was badly divided after a bomb blast in Quetta (capital of Baluchistan) on August 8th in which more than 60 people including many prominent lawyers lost their lives.CM of Baluchistan blamed RAW for that blast but ISIS and a splinter group of TTP also accepted the responsibility. Mahmood Khan Achakzai (President of Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party) criticized Pakistani security agencies in the parliament and said these agencies cannot blame RAW for their failures. Achakzai is ally of Nawaz Sharif. His elder brother is sitting Governor of Baluchistan. His speech angered military leadership and Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan condemned Achakzai to cool down angry Generals. Achakzai was ready to revolt against Nawaz Sharif but a speech from Modi on August 15th changed the whole scenario. Now Achakzai is on the defense.

A great opportunity was provided to anti-India elements in Pakistan for crying about Indian interference in Balochistan. Some Baloch separatists sitting in Western Capitals thanked Indian PM but not a single Baloch leader present in Baluchistan thanked. There were processions against India not only in Baluchistan but also in Muzzafarabad and Gilgit because Indian PM thanked people of these areas. There is no insurgency in Pakistani Kashmir and Giglit. Indian media cannot name a single person in these areas active for a merger with Delhi. Will the prime minister realize his blunder? Can he see the difference between Kashmir and Baluchistan now?

Hurriyat leaders like Syed Ali Shah Gilani and Asiya Andrabi or their supporters openly hoist Pakistani flags in Srinagar. We have not seen Indian flag raised in any city of Baluchistan. One can say that Baluch separatists have their own flag of Independent Baluchistan and that’s why they don’t need to carry Indian flag. It’s a valid argument. There is another point. Hurriyat leader like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq or Yasin Malik is present in Srinagar. Some are detained in their homes some imprisoned in jails. They are not reluctant of going to jails. Many of them are facing charges from treason to terrorism. Not a single Hurriyat leader is operating from any Western Capital. On the other hand most of the separatist Baloch leaders are thanking India from Western Capitals. They are not present on the ground because they lack public support. It doesn’t mean that there is no problem in Baluchistan. A big number of Baloch youth is not happy with Islamabad but they want their rights within the federation of Pakistan. They understand that Baloch population is divided in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Oman and UAE. It is difficult to break five countries and make a new country. They understand that there are UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir but there is no resolution on Balochistan. India gave special status to State of Jammu and Kashmir through article 370 of Indian Constitution but status of Baluchistan is not like J&K in Article 2 of Pakistan constitution. It enjoys the status of a province like other provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Many people in India claim that Pakistan forcefully occupied Baluchistan in 1948. Facts are different from the fiction. There were four princely States ruled by Baloch leaders in 1947. Baluch tribal areas and Quetta Municipality were separate entities. First of all Tribal Jirga (54 members) and Quetta Municipality (10 members including Hindu and Sikhs) decided to join Pakistan on June 29th 1947 through voting. Tribal elders who voted for Pakistan included Nawab Akbar Bugti who is the grandfather of Brahmadagh Bugti who thanked PM Modi on his August 15th statement. Princely States of Makran, Kharan and Lasbela decided to join Pakistan in 1947. Khanate of Kalat announced to remain Independent on August 15th 1947 and started negotiations with Government of Pakistan to formulate a new relationship. This State remained independent till 26th March 1948. A brief news aired by All India Radio on 27th March 1948 created panic for Khan of Kalat. All India Radio aired the statement of V P Menon who was an Indian government functionary responsible for dealing with princely states. He claimed that Khan of Kalat wants to join India but Indian government is not interested. May be he was trying to blackmail Pakistan on Kashmir issue but his statement backfired. Khan of Kalat immediately announced to join Pakistan same day to prove that he had no Indian connection. Same day Pakistan Army marched in Kalat and it became part of the country ruled by a former legal advisor of Kalat State Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Interestingly Gawadar was not part of Pakistan till 1958. It was part of Oman. A weak civilian government led by PM Malik Feroz Khan Noon negotiated a deal with Oman in 1958 and Gawadar became part of Pakistan. Nawab Akbar Bugti was Minister of Defense at that time but within few days of that deal General Ayub Khan imposed Martial Law in Pakistan and Bugti was thrown behind the bars. Insurgency in Baluchistan started in Ayub era. Nobody pointed fingers towards India in 60s and 70s for disturbance in Baluchistan. Pakistani establishment always accused Afghanistan and former USSR for Baloch insurgency. This problem cooled down when a military regime of General Ziaul Haq released many detained Baloch leaders but again it was General Musharraf who gave a martyr to Baloch insurgency by killing Akbar Bugti in 2006. Nawab Akbar Bugti always spoke for the political and economic rights of Balochistan. He wanted provincial control over mineral resources and coastal areas. He never ever demanded Independent Baluchistan but the blunders committed by Pakistani establishment created many separatist leaders like Bramhadagh Bugti, Harbayar Murree and Dr Allah Nazar Baloch. Only Dr. Allah Nazar is hiding somewhere in the coastal belt of Baluchistan because he is not son of any tribal Sardar. He is a medical doctor and follower of Lenin and Che Guvera. All other separatist leaders are living a comfortable life in Western countries. According to my information many Baluch separatists were approached to welcome the speech. Some of them obliged but many of them rejected this idea by saying “why should we provide direct evidence to Pakistan for establishing our links with India?”

There is another big difference between Kashmir and Baluchistan. Majority of Kashmiris lives in Kashmir. Baloch population in Pakistan is not living in one province. A Baluch majority area Dera Ghazi Khan was once part of the Khanate of Kalat but Maharaja Ranjeet Singh included this area in Sikh State of Punjab by force long ago. Jacobabad (Former Khan Garh) was once part of Baloch State but Mir Naseer Khan Second gave it to East India Company in 1854 for establishing a cantonment. Now Jacobabad is part of Sindh province. Baloch tribes are spread in all four provinces of Pakistan. Former President of Pakistan Farooq Khan Leghari was a Baloch tribal Sardar but he belonged to Punjab. Former Prime Minister Mir Balkh Sher Mazari is also a Baloch tribal Sardar but he is from Punjab. Former President Asif Zardari and former Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi are ethnically Baloch but they belong to Sindh province. Some Baloch nationalist parties like BNP led by Akhtar Mengal are demanding the merger of Baloch majority areas of Punjab into Baluchistan but they never demanded to break all Baloch areas of four provinces for making a new province.

Biggest problem of Baluchistan is poverty and unemployment. They want equal rights. It’s not the case in Jammu and Kashmir. I think the speech provided justification to Pakistan for launching an international diplomatic campaign in support of Kashmiris because Indian PM started a diplomatic campaign for Baloch independence. Unfortunately people of Baluchistan are the ultimate losers and Pakistani establishment is the gainer after the controversial statement made by Indian PM. He provided a reason to Pakistani establishment for suppressing all those who were raising voice against injustice in Balochistan. Now it will be difficult for Mama Qadeer Baluch to come on road against enforced disappearances. People like me or Asma Jahangir never ever supported independence of Baluchistan but even then we were declared Indian agents just because we demanded to give equal rights to Balochistan. Now imagine how difficult it would be for me or others to speak for the rights of Balochistan? Time will prove that the speech was one of the biggest political mistakes of Modi. Now it will be very difficult for Nawaz Sharif to warmly welcome PM Modi in coming SAARC conference in Pakistan. Many political and religious parties are planning to organize rallies against the Indian PM and if Modi won’t come to Pakistan who will be the beneficiary?

Author is a Pakistani journalist. He works for Geo Television and writes for Jang Group.