Protests are flaring from Balochistan to Gilgit-Baltistan—over land, resources, disappearances, and Islamabad’s grip.
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00:00It is our island, we should not push to the river, we should not push the river to the river to the river.
00:10That was Pakistan-occupied Gilgit, Baltistan.
00:13This is a blockade on Babar Loh Bypass in Pakistan's Sindh province.
00:17This is what just happened in South Uzharistan.
00:20This is an Indian news update on a fresh blast in Balochistan that killed at least 7 people.
00:26These are BJP politicians in India backing the idea of splitting Pakistan into new independent countries.
00:32I'm Manisha Bikari, you're watching First Things Fast.
00:48Since the April 22 Pehlgaam terror attack in Kashmir, Pakistan has witnessed several significant incidents of unrest.
00:54On April 24, the Baloch Liberation Army, or the BLA, carried out multiple attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan province, in Zamoran, Kolwa and Kala districts, killing at least seven Pakistani army personnel.
01:06A day later, the BLA struck again.
01:08In Quetta's Margat area, a Pakistani army convoy was hit by a remote-controlled IED, killing 10 soldiers.
01:15The BLA claimed responsibility.
01:17On April 28, a bombing targeted a local pro-government peace committee office in Wana, in South Waziristan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.
01:26The powerful blast killed seven people and wounded 16 others, an act likely executed by the Pakistani Taliban or a group that is popularly known as the TTP.
01:36Meanwhile, Baloch civil society groups continued to agitate for human rights.
01:40On April 29, the BYC, or the Baloch Yakcheti Committee, announced peaceful demonstrations under the banner,
01:46Making the Disappeared Appear, Resisting Baloch Genocide.
01:50The protests set to take place outside Deputy Commissioner's offices across Balochistan, aimed to demand justice for thousands of missing Baloch persons,
01:59believed to be a victim of enforced disappearances.
02:02Meanwhile, here in Gilgit, Balochistan, hundreds of residents of Shigarh district protested against the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill on April 28, 2025.
02:12Demonstrators here accused the Pakistani army and the government of attempting to seize local lands and mineral resources without their consent.
02:20Chanting slogans like Kabze Par Kabza Na Mansoor, they demanded recognition of Indigenous ownership rights over natural resources.
02:27Meanwhile, in Sindh, right about here, widespread protests have been taking place since mid-April against the Federal Government's plan to construct six new canals on the Indus River.
02:37Lawyers, civil society groups and nationalist parties argue that the project threatens Sindh's water resources.
02:44The Baburloi Dharna, a sitting protest at the Baburloi Bypass, blocked the national highway, disrupting traffic between Sindh and Punjab.
02:52This blockade forced manufacturers to halt production due to raw material shortages and port authorities warned of an impending congestion crisis.
02:59Several BJP politicians, meanwhile, have bluntly asserted that Pakistan's internal strife will lead to its break-up.
03:06For example, BJP MP Rashikan Dubey predicted that Pakistan will cease to exist as a country and will be divided into four distinct parts by the end of 2025, including Balochistan, Pakistan and Punjab.
03:20Such rhetoric frames the Baloch insurgency and other anti-state movements in Pakistan as signs of an approaching Bangladesh 1971-like outcome.
03:28In fact, Goa's Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, also from the BJP, drew that exact parallel.
03:34Sawant asserted that Pakistan is on the verge of splitting into two, with Balochistan pushing for independence.
03:40And he reassured crowds that India's Prime Minister would 100% take revenge on Pakistan for the Pahlgaam terror attack.
03:47Today, Pakistan is not just battling insurgents in Balochistan, protestors in Sindh or angry crowds in Gilgit-Baltistan.
03:53It's also drowning in an economic crisis so deep that its foreign reserves can barely cover a few weeks of imports.
03:59Inflation is crushing families. Political instability is brewing under the surface.
04:04And after the Pahlgaam terror attack, it's now staring at a full-blown diplomatic standoff with India.
04:10Which raises the real question, if elements of the Pakistani state were indeed involved in Pahlgaam, why would they choose to poke the bear now?
04:17Some experts say it's classic diversion when a state's grip at home weakens.
04:23The easiest distraction is an external enemy.
04:26Others believe it's desperation, a last-ditch attempt to rally nationalism before everything falls apart.
04:33Either way, what we're watching is not just another India-Pakistan flashpoint.
04:37It could well be the early tremors of something much bigger.
04:41The slow, visible unravelling of the Pakistani state.
04:45I'm Manish Abhikari. Thank you for watching.
04:47First things fast.