You can blame incompetency of the establishment and agencies for this. Were they sleeping when PPP was playing the "Sindh Card" for over a decade? What were separatists doing in AJK protesting few days back? What about the separatist movement being cultivated in Gilgit-Baltistan? We've been hearing how Gwadar will change Pakistan, for over a decade now? Where is the rail connection to the port? Why are there still separatists executing people in Balochistan after a decade of military operations? Look at Iran, it's much weaker, yet you don't see anywhere near the amount of separatist movements there than you see in Pakistan.
R&AW has always
played the long game. They have patiently and consistently
fomented the seeds of discord between ethnic groups in Pakistan, just like they did in East Pakistan. This process was slow and steady, not something that happened over night, but over decade(s). Look at the protests that happened in 1960's in East Pakistan, you'll realize that the events that lead to the 1971 Fall of Dhaka didn't start there, but much earlier.
R&AW has continued the process in West Pakistan, fomenting discord between ethnic groups in Pakistan. Establishment did not pick this up and did nothing to counter the separatist narrative. One thing they clearly forgot to do until only recent times is promote ideology that unites across ethnic groups. Consistent martial law prevented representation of all ethnic groups. Furthermore, establishment, itself, was responsible for bring parties like PPP & PML-N into power post-Musharraf. Just take a look at photographic evidence of rigging by PML-N politicians in 2013 elections, Imran Khan was right at the time, elections were fraud.
This isn't surprising as establishment didn't want Imran Khan in power due to his stated desire of bringing army under civilian control right after OBL Raid and his consistent opposition to operations in FATA. Bringing a more docile and obedient party like PML-N ensured that no one would oppose the army, yet it also bankrupted Pakistan. When the army went shopping for military toys, they realized they were bankrupt and shot themselves in the foot. Time and time again, you can see the after-effects of their stupidity.
It didn't help that establishment & politicians helped aggravate the situation and made R&AW's job more easier for them. Just take a look at how developed one side of Pakistan is compared to the other side. You'll realize why separatists groups easily form in places like Balochistan when you look at the poverty there. Imran Khan's govt. may be far from perfect, but at least they are
now focusing on the Western corridor of CPEC and Balochistan & FATA instead of projects like Lahore Metro.
Furthermore,
Pakistan has this idea to name provinces off of ethnic groups - which has led to so much of these separatists movements. You want these movements to end?
- Change the name of the provinces and divide them even more.
- Have more competent people in the establishment
- it certainly would make a difference, if you develop Balochistan and FATA to be on par with the rest of the country.
