In the ongoing narrative wars surrounding Balochistan, one truth is often lost amid the noise: the state remains committed to unity, law, and peace yet the most vulnerable among us are manipulated into believing otherwise.
While Pakistan faces relentless propaganda from antistate actors, no one seems to question how ordinary citizens get caught in the crossfire.
Protests erupt, slogans are raised, and banners wave in the air but how many of those standing in protest lines actually know what they are protesting for? More importantly, how many are there by choice?
There is a critical difference between dissent and distortion. In Balochistan, militants have exploited the economic hardships of locals, offering them small payments, or worse using threats of violence to fill protest grounds. This isn’t democratic expression. It’s weaponized manipulation of the poor.
The state, despite its flaws, has held firm against such chaos. But it must now shift its focus to listening not to the loudest voices, but to the real ones. The farmers, students, laborers, and women who want peace, not slogans. Who want security, not staged outrage.
If we want to win hearts in Balochistan, we must first amplify those hearts and silence the hands that force them to beat in fear.
