How the World Views the India-Pakistan War — and How Pakistan’s Marginalized Ethnic Groups See It? - By Shoaib Durrazai

Whenever tensions rise between India and Pakistan, the world's attention immediately turns to these two nuclear-armed neighbors. The international community’s top priority is to prevent war in the region, because both countries possess nuclear weapons, and any large-scale conflict could have catastrophic consequences—not only for South Asia but for the entire world.

However, there is a stark difference between the global narrative and the perspective of Pakistan’s oppressed ethnic groups. The same war that the world desperately wants to avoid is viewed by many within Pakistan—especially among the Baloch and Pashtun populations—as a potential opportunity for positive change. For them, this war represents a chance to challenge the decades-long oppression imposed by the Pakistani state.

The Global View: Preventing a Nuclear War

Organizations like the United Nations, the United States, China, the European Union, and other world powers consistently strive to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan. These global actors fear that any miscalculated conflict could escalate into a nuclear confrontation—potentially one of the deadliest events in human history.

The View from Within Pakistan: Resistance to the State

In contrast, many marginalized communities within Pakistan—particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—see such a conflict as an opportunity. They argue that the way the Pakistani state has treated them for over seventy years already amounts to a form of war.

Balochistan:

Since 1948, Balochistan has seen ongoing resistance against Pakistani rule. A large majority of the Baloch people believe that Pakistan forcibly annexed their land using military power, and since then, they have suffered severe oppression.
After 2005, the intensity of this state repression increased dramatically. Enforced disappearances, mutilated bodies, the silencing of political voices, and routine military operations became the norm. No one was spared—not children, not women, not the elderly.
Even today, the Baloch people refuse to be part of any national interest or military strategy pursued by Pakistan.

Pashtuns:

The Pashtun community historically stood by the Pakistani state—whether during the wars of 1965 and 1971, the anti-Soviet jihad in the 1980s, or the post-9/11 resistance against the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani state exploited religious sentiments to push Pashtuns into these militant conflicts. But the consequences were devastating: terrorism, drone strikes, military operations, and collective punishments ravaged their regions.
Now, the post-2020 generation thinks differently. Thousands of young Pashtuns are raising questions through platforms like the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), asking why their land is constantly turned into a battlefield.
This time, many Pashtuns view the looming war as a sign of state weakness—and are distancing themselves from Pakistan’s so-called "defensive wars."

Is the State Narrative Failing?

In both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistani Army is facing not only a decline in ground-level support but also a loss of moral legitimacy. Where once the state narrative emphasized unity against an “enemy nation,” today that rhetoric holds little sway in these regions.
On social media, young Baloch and Pashtuns are openly asking: If civilian deaths in an India-Pakistan war are deemed war crimes by Pakistan, then who will account for the innocent corpses of Balochistan and Waziristan?

Conclusion: One War, Two Perspectives

It is clear that the world and Pakistan’s internal ethnic groups view a potential India-Pakistan war from entirely different lenses.
To the world, it is a “war to be prevented.”
To the oppressed nations within Pakistan, it is a “war for liberation from state oppression.”

This contrast reveals Pakistan’s internal crises—the weakening grip of nationalism and the growing struggle for identity among minority groups. Perhaps the time has come for the world to hear this internal story too, not just the fear of nuclear confrontation between two states.