Like the British Raj, Pakistan is still struggling on the Afghan border. While it is facing challenges from Afghanistan, rebellion has also arisen in the areas of Pakistan bordering it. The Rakh Army is facing failure in its attempt to suppress the local tribes.
The situation in Pakistan's Balochistan province has changed rapidly in the last few months. There have been incidents of violence in many areas of the province, especially the Pakistani army has been targeted here. It is being claimed that many areas have come under the control of rebel groups. The recent hijacking of the Jaffar Express train and the attack on the army convoy in Noshki have made it clear that things are slipping out of Pakistan's hands in Balochistan.
In Pakistan, emphasis is being laid on military operations to control Balochistan. However, this is not easy for the Pakistani army. There is already a large deployment of the Pakistani army on the Indian border. In such a situation, fighting on two fronts can be difficult for the Pakistani army.
Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is spread over 101,741 square kilometers and Balochistan over 347,190 square kilometers. According to a study, Pakistan deployed about 140,000 soldiers and Frontier Corps soldiers in these provinces during its operations in 2009-2010. On the other hand, India deploys about 320,000 soldiers to prevent infiltration on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. Whereas the area of Jammu and Kashmir is 42,241 square kilometers, which is even less than Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is clear from this that the deployment of Pak Army in these provinces facing violence is not sufficient.
Economic crisis
Pakistan is also facing economic crisis. Pakistan has been facing economic challenges for some time now. Pakistan's strategists will not agree to the fact that soldiers should be removed from LOC and sent to Balochistan and Afghan border. In such a situation, Pakistan, which is facing economic crisis, may have to increase defense expenditure, which will create a new kind of challenge for it. In such a situation, experts believe that the challenge for Shahbaz Sharif's government and Army Chief Asim Munir is going to increase.
Pakistani journalist Imtiaz Baloch says that a large part of the roads in Balochistan are either occupied by rebels or bandits. The easy answer to overcome this could be to send more troops here. However, the big problem in this is that Pakistan will have to weaken its military position on the LOC to do this. That is, at the moment it seems that fighting on two fronts is difficult for the Pakistani army.
Balochistan cannot be won through violence
Historian Sana Haroon says that Pakistan is facing the same challenges as the British rule once did. The Pakistani army is also talking about attacking like the British, but history shows that military power will not solve this. For this, it is necessary to work politically and economically. The British also got success here in the end in this way. When they talked to the people here and pacified them. Instead of using its army and resources, Pakistan should also talk to the local people and bring them into the mainstream.