Recent reports alleged that Pakistan has resorted to indiscriminate aerial bombardment across several regions of Balochistan and use of chemical munitions.
Such actions constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and pose a direct threat to civilian populations. For many Baloch, however, this escalation is not surprising, it is part of a long history of repression in which the province has been treated as a testing ground for Pakistan’s most destructive military experiments.
Leaders Speak Out
The accusations of chemical use are not new. On 24 December 2005, Senator Sanaullah Baloch of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) accused the Pakistan Army of using poison gas in Kohlu. That same day, nationalist senators accused the military of chemical assaults and carpet bombings on villages.
On 7 February 2006, Agha Shahid Hasan Bugti, Secretary-General of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), charged that paramilitary forces had fired chemical gas shells into the civilian areas of Dera Bugti.
Despite these grave accusations, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan dismissed the reports as “baseless propaganda.” Yet, the convergence of allegations across parties and tribes tells another story.
Clandestine Chemical Procurement
Allegations of chemical attacks gain weight when viewed against evidence of Pakistan’s procurement networks. In May 6th, 2024, Indian authorities intercepted a consignment of ortho-chloro benzylidene malononitrile (CS gas), a riot-control agent strictly controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) shipped by Chengdu Shichen Trading Co. (China) to Rohail Enterprises, Rawalpindi.
The covert shipment route, Shanghai to Karachi via India’s Kattupalli Port suggested deliberate concealment. While Pakistan insisted the chemicals were for policing purposes, the timing and secrecy fueled suspicions that such agents were destined for counterinsurgency in Balochistan, where Chinese assets under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are frequent insurgent targets.
This evidence points to a China–Pakistan nexus in sourcing chemical agents and Beijing’s vested interest in helping Islamabad suppress Baloch dissent.
A History of Indifference: Nuclear Fallout in Chagai
The idea that Pakistan would deploy hazardous weapons on its own citizens is not unthinkable. In May 1998, Islamabad conducted nuclear tests in the Ras Koh Mountains of Chagai district, falsely declaring the area barren. In truth, the region was home to thousands who relied on its land and water.
In the years following the tests, cancer, skin diseases, and respiratory illnesses spiked in Chagai, allegedly due to radiation contamination. Yet, the Pakistani state denied responsibility, offered no relief, and refused investigation.
If Islamabad could expose its own people to nuclear fallout without remorse, the use of chemical or phosphorus weapons in Balochistan today is consistent with a decades-long pattern of callous militarization.
International Intelligence Warnings
Global intelligence reports reinforce suspicions of Pakistan’s chemical ambitions:
- In 2023, Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned that Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, and Syria were actively pursuing illegal procurement of dual-use chemical technologies.
- In 2024, Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) confirmed that China acts as a hub for sanctioned goods, facilitating Pakistan’s access to dual-use chemicals through intermediaries and shell companies.
- The United States has sanctioned multiple Chinese companies for supplying Pakistan’s ballistic missile and dual-use programs, underscoring the persistence of clandestine supply chains.
Together, these findings show that Pakistan is not merely a passive participant but an active player in circumventing global controls to secure chemical and dual-use technologies.
A Humanitarian Crisis in the Making
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has long criticized the state’s conduct in Balochistan, highlighting enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and aerial bombardments. The possible introduction of chemical and phosphorus munitions elevates these crimes into war crimes and crimes against humanity.
For ordinary Baloch families, this means living under constant fear: of helicopter gunships overhead, of chemical shells fired into villages, of an international community that looks away.
A Call for Accountability
Pakistan’s record in Balochistan from nuclear fallout in Chagai to alleged chemical and phosphorus bombardments in Kohlu, Dera Bugti, and beyond, demands international scrutiny. The United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) must initiate independent investigations. If culpability is established, Pakistan must face sanctions and restrictions on dual-use technologies.
Without accountability, Islamabad will continue to crush the Baloch with bombs, chemicals, and silence. And Balochistan will remain what it has been for decades: a battlefield for Pakistan’s military ambitions and a graveyard for its own people.
