Too big to control, too broke to fix: Pakistan’s defence minister lays bare Balochistan crisis
Pakistan’s deepening internal collapse was on full display in parliament after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif delivered a startling admission, declaring that the country’s security forces are “physically handicapped” while battling a renewed surge of militant violence in Balochistan.
The remarks came as Pakistani authorities claimed to have killed 177 insurgents in sweeping counter-terror operations across the province—figures that did little to mask the scale of the crisis gripping the country’s largest and most volatile region.
Addressing the National Assembly, Asif blamed geography rather than governance for the state’s inability to control Balochistan, which accounts for over 40 per cent of Pakistan’s landmass but remains sparsely populated and chronically unstable.
“Balochistan constitutes over 40 per cent of Pakistan geographically. To control it is much more difficult than a populated city. Our troops are deployed there and are in action, but they are physically handicapped by guarding and patrolling such a big area,” Asif said, in an unusually candid admission quoted by PTI.
The statement sounded less like a strategic assessment and more like a confession of state exhaustion—at a time when Pakistan’s Prime Minister has openly acknowledged that the country has been “going around the world with a begging bowl” to keep its economy afloat.
A country stretched thin—militarily and financially
Security officials said the counter-terror operations followed coordinated attacks at 12 locations across Balochistan, targeting civilians, homes and security installations. At least 33 civilians and 17 police and security personnel were killed over the weekend, according to official figures.
Train services linking Balochistan with the rest of Pakistan remained suspended for a third consecutive day, while mobile and internet services were cut across several districts—standard emergency measures that have increasingly become routine in the troubled province.
Despite the mounting toll, Asif categorically ruled out any talks with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), branding the group as terrorists and rejecting negotiations with those accused of killing civilians, including women and children.
Yet critics note the irony: while Pakistan’s leadership refuses dialogue at home, it has repeatedly appealed for bailouts, loans and aid abroad—from the IMF to friendly capitals—underscoring a state that can neither secure its territory nor sustain its economy without external support.
Old narratives, familiar denials
Balochistan’s insurgency has simmered for decades, driven by ethnic Baloch groups accusing Islamabad of political marginalisation, economic exploitation and enforced disappearances. Militants have repeatedly targeted infrastructure and projects linked to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), exposing the fragility of Pakistan’s flagship economic venture.
Asif, however, dismissed allegations that the province had been neglected, pointing to development projects such as airports. He also rejected claims surrounding “missing persons,” asserting that names of militants killed in operations had appeared on such lists.
“This narrative has been concocted. Terrorists and criminal elements have hijacked these causes,” he said—walking back earlier support for the issue.
For observers, the contradictions are telling. A defence minister admitting physical incapacity, a prime minister admitting financial desperation, and a state struggling to hold together a province that constitutes nearly half its territory—Pakistan’s crisis is no longer being exposed by critics, but confessed by its own leadership.
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