“My First Identity Is Pakistani, Then Baloch”: CM Sarfraz Bugti Rejects Ethnic Divisions

Ziarat: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s honor and dignity have been firmly established on the global stage, adding that the country has defeated an enemy many times its size and that world leaders are now acknowledging Pakistan’s progress and “take-off.”

Addressing an emotionally charged gathering in Ziarat on the occasion of Quaid-e-Azam Day, the chief minister said that victors are honored, not the defeated. “Today, we are on the path of victory, and a new roadmap has been defined for Balochistan,” he said. He praised the Corps Commander Balochistan and the leadership of security forces, stating that the provincial government, in coordination with the military leadership, has introduced a governance model aimed at delivering rights directly to the doorstep of the common Baloch citizen.

Strongly rejecting ethnic and nationalist narratives, Sarfraz Bugti said that before 1947, there was no such identity, but today his foremost identity is that of a “proud Pakistani,” followed by being a Baloch. He said enemies have always attempted to divide the nation on two bases—language and religion—but every such conspiracy has been defeated.

Addressing Pashtun tribes, the chief minister said that when enemies realized that linguistic divisions had failed, they launched attacks on Pakistan—founded on “La ilaha illallah”—through extremist elements. He said that so-called jihad and the menace of Fitna al-Khawarij (TTP/TTA) imposed war on the country, but tribes from Zhob, Sherani, Qila Saifullah, Loralai, and other areas stood shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps to defeat terrorists.

The Balochistan chief minister assured the public that the province would once again become a cradle of complete peace. He warned that those who take up arms against the state or operate on foreign agendas will no longer find any refuge in Balochistan.