New Delhi, May 29 : The battle in Balochistan has been anything but easy for the Pakistani security forces. Recently, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) carried out a coordinated train bombing targeting security personnel aboard the Zaffar Express.

For Field Marshal Asim Munir, Balochistan is a ticking time bomb. China has in recent months stepped up the pressure immensely, and the Pakistan establishment is finding it hard to provide answers. For China, the safety of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) is at stake. Chinese investments and their personnel have frequently been targeted in Balochistan.

At the time of signing up for the project, Pakistan had made tall claims about the security of the CPEC. China had made it clear that it would invest in the project, but it would be up to the Pakistanis to ensure its safety. An official said that Asim Munir is under immense pressure, and he is looking for a way out of this mess. He has used all the tools at his disposal, but in Balochistan, each one of them failed badly.

Another official said that Munir now needs a major diversion, and hence he has been indulging in a narrative campaign. He was at the western frontier, where he delivered a powerful address that was entirely focused on India-bashing. Instead of boosting the morale of his forces and finding solutions, he just stuck to one point, and that is blaming New Delhi for everything wrong that is taking place in Balochistan.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the troops are demoralised and there is every chance of massive desertions taking place. This has put the administration in panic mode, and Munir has no idea how to handle this. Munir has put more troops on the ground to fight BLA, but there has hardly been any success. He has not been able to provide security to the CPEC, and this has led to mounting pressure from China.

In another desperate move, he roped in the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to fight alongside the Pakistani troops against the BLA. However, this tactic too has failed. The Pakistani army chief even told Lashkar-e-Taiba founder, Hafiz Saeedâ??s son, Talha Saeed, to negotiate with the BLA. For this, he had even met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifâ??s close aide.

An official said that this gambit too is bound to fail as the BLA has zero trust in the Pakistan administration or even its terror proxies. With no cards left, Munir felt it would be best if diverts attention from the real issue. During his visit on Eid-ul-Azha, with frontline troops in Zhob and Quetta, he went on Delhi-bashing. Officials say that Munir has no choice but to divert attention from complete administrative failure.

Officials say that those part of the administration are panicking, and many in Pakistan feel let down by what is happening in Balochistan. Officials say that the visit ideally should have focused on security gaps, Intelligence failures, and administrative lapses. Had he stuck to this and admitted to the gaps and found solutions, his troops would have gotten their morale booster. Instead, he sought to shift blame, while not addressing the real problem.

Another official said there are enough inputs to suggest that many would be deserting the army and other security forces. They have no answers against outfits such as the BLA and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Their repeated requests to make the desired changes have fallen on deaf ears. The official said that currently they are demoralised, but over a period of time, the desertions would take place in large numbers.

Officials say Munir is frantic. Beijing has stepped up the pressure immensely and is demanding security guarantees. The increasing number of losses that the Chinese are incurring due to the failure of Pakistan has left Beijing fuming. One can imagine the pressure that Munir must be under. But instead of addressing issues, he has decided to indulge in a fake narrative drive against India to divert attention from the real problem, an official said.

/IANS