The narrative of Pakistan’s diplomatic coup in brokering the US-Iran deal has been undermined by increasing civil unrest within its borders, further aggravated by the sentencing of human rights activist Dr Mahrang Baloch to life imprisonment earlier this week. Pakistan has accordingly pivoted to crying foul over the Indus Waters Treaty, securitising water as it does all its problems.

Growing Domestic Challenges

Pakistan has historically been adept at shaping anti-India narratives, casting the blame for the shortfalls of its government on India. The limitations of that strategy are now glaringly obvious. Pakistan is finding it hard to spin the violent suppression of protestors in Balochistan and ‘Azad’ Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). In the latter province, some 50 people were killed in separate incidents of police firing earlier this month. The ongoing sit-in by tens of thousands at Rawalkot has yielded impactful images of children holding up placards saying, “Food blocked, internet off” and “We want free education”. A showdown is imminent, with protestors planning a massive march on the provincial headquarters in Muzaffarabad.

In Balochistan, a month of violence followed by public protests and a province-wide shutdown stood in stark contrast to the peaceful environs of Lake Lucerne, where the US-Iran talks were held. The Western media’s championing of Dr Baloch, who has protested extrajudicial killings, covert trials,........

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