In Conversation with Ahmar Mustikhan, Baloch Journalist and Activist

My name is Ahmar Mustikhan. I am known as an ossified Baloch journalist based in the Washington D.C. area — and also a troublemaker for Pakistan.

I’ve lived in the United States for 25 years. Had I been in Pakistan, I would have long met my maker, because many of my friends have died in Pakistan resisting the brutal military occupation of Balochistan.

When you are dislocated from your homeland, and also from what you do, you put on many hats. I organized conferences in Washington D.C. and in Geneva, Switzerland, about 8–10 years ago. But mostly I write for different publications. Even now I contribute some writings.

I’m grateful to Dr. Munish Raizada — I’ve known him for some years. He was originally from the area which the British named Pakistan. I still like to call that whole area India. Many good people left what is now Pakistan and are now in India.

One of the most important stories was the nuclear test in Balochistan (May 28, 1998). The nuclear test was the breaking point for me, personally. During my last two years in Pakistan — 1998 to 2000, before I left in October 2000 — I was writing for many newspapers and news services, including the Environmental News Service. My American editors told me that we (ENS) were the ones who broke the news about Pakistan’s nuclear test in Balochistan. It was one of the worst things Pakistan did to Balochistan. They came in against our wishes, took over Balochistan, denied us our rights, and on top of that they conducted a nuclear test. The strangest part: they did not allow any environmental impact assessment. Under international law, whenever a nuclear test is done, you must conduct an environmental impact assessment. It was a huge disaster for the environment. Environmental reporting was one of my passions.

There are many untold stories from Balochistan, but I believe the nuclear fallout is one of the biggest untold international stories. My stories were well-received at the time, but of course I ended up on the wrong side of the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment. My reporting also exposed their ideology of supporting terrorism in India and extremism in Afghanistan. But the nuclear test was the straw that broke the camel’s back — both for me, and for the establishment’s tolerance for me.

No, it never got the traction I wanted it to. Never.

Immediately after that, Balochistan was again in turmoil. The nuclear test happened almost exactly 50 years and 2 months after Balochistan was forcibly annexed — on March 27, 1948 — by Mr. Jinnah.

I’ll tell you a little more about that. Mr. Jinnah was tasked with the historic sin of dividing India by the British rulers, and he did a good job for them. When he came to Karachi, his political crimes — other than dividing India — included occupying Balochistan, and ordering the first jihad in Kashmir. This happened just two weeks after Pakistan was created. They launched Operation Gulmarg to take over Kashmir.

One of the most immoral things Jinnah did was during what I call the Partition Holocaust— millions were uprooted, maybe 1.5 million killed— also went unreported. When Jinnah came to Karachi, there was a prosperous Marwari merchant named Seth Shiv Rattan Mohatta. He built a beautiful sea-facing mansion for his wife who had a respiratory illness — the doctor advised sea air. Jinnah had stayed in that mansion before partition, as Mohatta was a rich merchant and maybe Jinnah had represented him in some court cases. But after partition, Jinnah came to him and said: “This house now belongs to me.”

Can you believe it? The founder of the country did this.

It was at this palatial mansion where Pakistan’s first military dictator, General Ayub Khan, allegedly got Jinnah’s beloved sister assassinated by one of her own male servants in July 1967.

Against our wishes. The Baloch ruler’s brother, Prince Agha Abdul Karim Khan Ahmedzai, was the first to resist in 1948. He went to Afghanistan with 1,500 people. Today, a Pakistani general, Gen Asim Munir, claims we are still only 1,500 — he lives in a fool’s paradise. Today, male fighters in Balochistan, called Sarmachars, number around 70,000, and there are at least 10,000 female members of the Majeed Brigade, who are willing to sacrifice their lives for Balochistan freedom, at short notice.

Humans cannot be treated like ants and flies. The Pakistani military has treated us that way. Pakistan was created artificially by the British. Some people get impressed by Pakistan’s military, but Pakistan will fall like a house of cards if the United States and United Kingdom stop supporting Islamabad.

They have closed their eyes to death (of Baloch people).

One of the most significant events was on August 26, 2006: the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, former Governor and Chief Minister of Balochistan. He worked within the system of Pakistan for 50 years, but realized Pakistan would never give Balochistan its due rights. He opposed Musharraf’s policies and Chinese involvement in Balochistan. His killing was a game-changer. Whether we agreed with him or not, whether we loved him or not, his murder was a jolt for every Baloch. Because if a towering personality like Nawab Bugti is killed, that means that no Baloch matters to Pakistan. It was like killing the King of England for the English.

Musharraf’s illegal regime accused him of leading the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). That regime had overthrown an elected government. Nawaz Sharif was removed, and even today he is not PM because the military didn’t like his stance against Musharraf. Instead, his brother is allowed to be the “tamed monkey,” while Asim Munir is the “street juggler.”

Pakistan’s real Prime Minister is Imran Khan — everyone knows that. We are fighting for our liberation, but we still want Pakistan to be a democracy. We want the military out of politics. The military has ruined Pakistan. In India there are a hundred different political views and all that carries on, but you never have this kind of situation where the military will say we are going to run the country. But here we have this. The generals have destroyed Pakistan; they have destroyed the Constitution. Maybe, in spite of all those injustices, we could have said, okay, let’s make a deal with Pakistan. But the generals themselves are the worst enemies of Pakistan. They were the ones who, in 1971, got Pakistan halved. And again they are cutting Pakistan into many pieces now.

Pakistan, the word itself is a 90-year-old name. You know, “-istan” means the land of — Afghanistan is the land of Afghans; Balochistan means the land of Balochs; Kurdistan means the land of Kurds; Kazakhstan the land of Kazakhs. What is Pakistan? It doesn't mean the land of any people. It was a word a Cambridge student named Chaudhry Rahmat Ali coined at Cambridge University in England about 10–15 years prior to its official becoming a country.

And that same guy who named Pakistan — do you know what he called Mr. Jinnah? He said he was not Quaid-e-Azam, he was Quisling-e-Azam— quisling means agent. That guy was not allowed to stay in Pakistan; he had to run back to the United Kingdom. So today, Pakistan is on the brink of collapse. I call it a failed British project. The Punjabi military which represents the elite of Punjab (Province of Pakistan), they are myopic and narrow-minded. They have never accepted the Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus as their own. They want others to do the same. Why should we? We have highest regards for India, which we call Bharat Mata. We have the highest respect for our Afghan brothers. We Baloch and Afghans have hundreds of years of shared history. We have intermarriages — my nieces and nephews have Afghan blood. Now they went and bombed Afghanistan. This Asim Munir is just a puppy of the Americans. How can you do what the Americans do?

Americans have a lot of power, a lot of money, the highest military budget in the world — God, how many? One trillion — more than one trillion dollars a year. You are trying to imitate the Americans by going and bombing Afghanistan? They made a big, big blunder. And I think the Afghans are not going to let them go so easily.

Maybe the Afghans cannot reach Washington, D.C. — it’s too far — but Islamabad is just next door.

Honest to God, if it was my wish, I believe, whether anyone likes it or not, in one huge India. My personal view is one huge India. Even with Punjabi Muslims we can live in one huge India. Ambedkar was a great leader; he wrote the Constitution of India but it was his mistake to favor partition. I really wish we all should have been one country, and in a whole one India we could all have prospered together. But unfortunately, the Pakistani, Punjabi Muslim separatist mentality will never let that happen.

We are left with no option because the Punjabi Muslim military will never agree to one India. They want to rule. It’s so stupid of them. In Balochistan our neighbours are the Sindhis — we have no problem with the Sindhis. Our one neighbour is Afghans — we have no problem with the Afghans. Even with the Persians we don’t have that much of a big problem. Then we have these Punjabi Muslims who want to come and rule over us at the point of a gun. They don't even understand our psychology. Our Baloch people are stupidly courageous — “bewakoofi ki hadd tak bahadur” — that kind of mindset. Our people are not afraid of death at all.

The Punjabi Muslims have always served the British colonial interest, and now they are puppies of the Americans. Two capitals are actually propping up Pakistan to this day: London and Washington, D.C.

I was talking to a Baloch author and intellectual in London, Dr. Naseer Dashti. He said, if those two capitals stop supporting Pakistan, there will be no Pakistan on the world map. It’s so simple. Please don't be blackmailed by their threats that they will blow up half the world. The Americans — the CIA and the Pentagon and the White House — they are all the main center of all the problems in the world.

How cannot Mr. Trump see that General Asim Munir was the terrorist behind Pahalgam? When he was ISI chief — the Pulwama attack — right? He will continue such things, and Mr. Trump is saying he’s my favourite field marshal. Mr. Trump — I have to tell you —  [is] extremely corrupt. He is according to numerous reports like what you used to find in third world leaders — corrupt trying to benefit their families.

Unfortunately, today’s America is that. Asim Munir has got hold of Mr. Trump because of the cryptocurrency business that the Trump sons are running — it’s called the World Liberty Financial. He has got them into it. Remember Mr. Trump had a very good stand on Pakistan during his previous administration. And now he made a 180-degree turn. Why? Because he got into the cryptocurrency business.

I appreciate you raised this question. The thing is, when China put limitations on how the US can get rare earth minerals, the manufacturing of the Ford Explorer got affected because of Chinese restrictions on rare earths. Also, I believe another car — Suzuki’s Swift — production of these vehicles got impacted because of Chinese restrictions.

And what does the general do? He went and assured Trump not to worry about the Chinese restrictions and famously showed him a suitcase with rare minerals. This general is an implant from Jalandhar. Their military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chowdhury, whose father was best friends with Osama bin Laden, is the number one liar in the world. His heritage is from Amritsar. They hate Jalandhar and Amritsar. What kind of people hate the land where their ancestors are buried? They are avowed enemies of India. They mix up religion and nationality and then whip up war hysteria and communal hatred.

Why should we remain under Pakistan’s military boots? There is no justification. We don’t share their worldview. We have great respect and love for India. We don’t get the kind of support necessary to make Balochistan free from India — no, never. I have to be honest: there’s very little interest in Balochistan from New Delhi, and that interest only arose when Musharraf went into Kargil. Prior to that there was zero interest. Some people in New Delhi thought, enough is enough. But just pinching Pakistan is not enough — you have to get rid of this monster. If India thinks Pakistan’s generals will have a change of heart toward India, it’s not going to happen.

Many of our people and leaders have appealed to India to help us. Even now, one main leader on the ground, Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch, two months ago appealed to India — “please at least give us the 93,000 guns that the cowardly soldiers of Pakistan surrendered at Paltan Maidan in Dhaka.” He said, if India cannot give us the best arms, just give us those 93,000 guns and we will tackle Pakistan. So India — this is a tragedy.

After Narendra Modi’s speech from the Red Fort in August, many of us were calling for support from India, including me. Narendra Modi was serious about what he wanted to do. The problem is, even in the Indian security establishment you have many Western-educated security experts who speak English like the Americans and the British, so they said “no, no, don’t do this, don’t do that; this will happen, that will happen.” 

I don’t know what your feelings are about Indira Gandhi, but we have lots of respect for her. She was the tigress who delivered Bangladesh. I’m extremely sorry — the American CIA again is controlling Bangladesh. It’s not Pakistan — it’s the American CIA. They wanted bases in Bangladesh and when Sheikh Hasina Wazed refused those bases, they removed her. So this is all America. In Pakistan, General Asim Munir is 100% American CIA.

This is the problem and it has to be tackled head-on. Sri Narendra Modi was serious in helping Balochistan. Unfortunately, some of your intel experts asked Modi not to go that route. But India has to go that route for the benefit of her own citizens. In Mumbai you have the world’s richest people on that street — Altamount Road. If they take an interest in the opportunities Balochistan presents — business and commerce opportunities. Many countries take interest in its rare earth minerals, India should take an interest in it too. We have so much respect and love for India; we don’t have that for other powers. I’m sorry to say the babus in Delhi are sleeping for the last 80 years on the importance of Balochistan.

I forgot to tell you one thing. When the British were creating this nonsense, Pakistan, our leaders went to India — the main leader who later became governor of Balochistan, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo. I once asked Mir Bizenjo about why he diluted his stance from freedom to provincial autonomy. He said his party, the Kalat State National Party, went to India and met Abul Kalam Azad, the Congress president at the time, and asked for help — “please help us otherwise Pakistan is going to take over.” Maulana Abul Kalam Azad said no, because if they do that the British will postpone India’s freedom. “We cannot afford to do that just because of Balochistan.” He advised compromise with Pakistan.

When our leaders saw India would not help, they became dejected. The Pakistan military was developed by the British and 60% of the military was Punjabi Muslims at independence. The Baloch didn’t have that military power then. Now our youth have a different story — whether we are able to fight or not, we are going to fight. After years of Pakistani military brutalities — killings, enforced disappearances, torture — I cannot even talk about it. They are extremely brutal. They say they are an army of Allah; has Allah taught them this to be so unkind to another human being? Their actions are anything but human. Maybe the Punjabi military actions can put Hitler to shame. Yes — extremely brutal.

Our future is bright, no matter how dark the situation may seem at present. As I said, only two powers are propping up Pakistan: The United States and the United Kingdom. They are the ones helping Pakistan. We saw the United States could not directly control many countries — they were defeated in Vietnam and got defeated in Afghanistan.

My personal view is we need full support from two countries — I am going to appeal to India: please shed this policy and come out openly in support of Balochistan for the good of Mother India and the region. We also need full support from Afghanistan. I’m glad the present government in Afghanistan is, I believe, one of the best for Baloch people.

Previously too, Afghan governments did not like Punjabi rulers because the Punjabi rulers had taken a chunk of Afghan territory — Khyber Pashtunkhwa belongs to Afghanistan historically. There are many Pashtun-speaking districts administratively in Balochistan. We Baloch don’t claim that territory — we respect it as Afghan land — but the Punjabis don’t respect it. So, we want support from India and Afghanistan.

My request to China is don’t live in a fool’s paradise. Why do business with these jihadist Punjabis when they are puppies of America? They go against the vital interests of China as well.

My appeal to India: sit down with China. India is diverse, almost a subcontinent. The Communist Party of India and the CPI(M) in Bengal and Kerala have influence with Chinese leaders — please use them and talk with China to isolate these Punjabis. As long as China has its hands on their head and back, they will act funny with India, Afghanistan and Balochistan. Make a deal with China to isolate the Punjabi jihadis – that is my appeal to Indian leaders.

Only two countries support Pakistan’s survival, and those two cannot help them forever. They do it not because they love the Punjabis — they do it because of their own interests. Pakistan’s military provides the cheapest hired soldiers.