“Violence Won’t Solve Balochistan’s Problems”: Kakar’s Strong Message to Students

Senator and former caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar told more than 6,150 students on Monday that Balochistan’s problems will not be solved by separatism or violence, but by using the constitutional, political and administrative tools already available to the state.

Kakar made the remarks during a special session with participants of the ISPR Summer Internship Programme 2026, an annual outreach initiative now drawing students from 21 stations across Pakistan — one of the largest cohorts the program has hosted. He used the platform to lay out the government’s framing of the insurgency in Balochistan, arguing that separatist and militant groups rely on violence as their core political strategy, at direct cost to regional peace, development and ordinary residents’ lives.

The senator was specific about which attacks he wanted students to remember. He cited the assault on Jaffar Express passengers, the killing of civilians in Musakhail, and the targeting of laborers in Turbat as violations of basic human rights and the right to life, calling attacks on unarmed civilians unacceptable under any circumstance. He also pressed for a full campaign against militants linked to what he called Fitna al-Hindustan, saying their networks need to be dismantled entirely — language that echoes the Pakistani military’s own terminology for India-linked militancy.

That framing matters beyond the room. Pakistan’s security establishment has spent the past two years building a public narrative that ties Baloch separatist violence to external sponsorship, a claim insurgent groups themselves reject and independent observers have not verified. Kakar’s remarks to a large student audience extend that narrative-building effort from military spokespeople to civilian political figures with Balochistan credentials of their own — he is a Balochistan-born senator and former party spokesman for the province.

The former premier’s core message to the students went past security policy into strategy: he argued the fight against extremism cannot be won through security operations alone, and needs an equally serious intellectual and communications front. He urged the students to prepare themselves mentally and academically to counter extremist and anti-state narratives, telling them the tools available — language, argument, knowledge and communication skill — are what will let a younger generation answer negative narratives effectively.

The scale of Monday’s session reflects how far the ISPR internship program has grown. What began as a smaller outreach effort now draws thousands of students annually into direct contact with senior political and military figures, part of a broader state effort to shape how young Pakistanis understand security issues, from Balochistan to the eastern border, before they reach the workforce. Whether that outreach shifts public opinion in Balochistan itself, where grievances over the state’s own conduct remain a persistent driver of unrest, is a separate question the sessions have not directly addressed.