While Pakistan’s leadership continues to issue aggressive rhetoric toward India, the country itself is unraveling from within—fractured along historical, geographic, and ethnic lines. One of the most telling signs of its internal decay is the so-called Indus Divide the stark disparity between the eastern heartland dominated by Punjab and the neglected western provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Gilgit-Baltistan. This east-west schism, symbolically and geographically divided by the Indus River, has exposed Pakistan's deeply imbalanced power structure one that privileges Punjabi elites while systematically disenfranchising the rest.

From military leadership to bureaucracy and political dominance, eastern Pakistan particularly Punjab has monopolized decision-making for decades. Over 70% of top generals and senior officials hail from Punjab, turning the region into a power fortress. Pakistan’s western provinces, however, serve as little more than strategic outposts used for resource extraction, military operations, and propaganda but denied basic rights and representation. “This is not a federation. It’s colonialism repackaged under the Pakistani flag,” said an Indian strategic analyst. “Islamabad has become a symbol of central oppression, not national unity.”

In regions like Balochistan and KP, enforced disappearances, military crackdowns, and systemic underdevelopment are a daily reality. The Pakistani state, under the pretext of national security, has waged a campaign of fear and repression against its own citizens. Baloch and Pashtun activists, including members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), are frequently arrested, tortured, or silenced for demanding dignity and autonomy. In stark contrast to India’s thriving multi-ethnic democracy, Pakistan’s treatment of its minorities reveals the authoritarian face of its so-called federation.

Even as Pakistan attempts to lecture India on Kashmir, it turns a blind eye to the cries from Gwadar, Quetta, Swat, and Waziristan. While cities like Lahore and Islamabad enjoy modern infrastructure, Pakistan’s western regions remain mired in poverty. Balochistan, despite contributing vast mineral wealth and energy resources, is plagued by water shortages, crumbling schools, and nonexistent healthcare.

The state’s extractive policies have robbed these regions of development, feeding insurgency and disillusionment. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s elite continues to blame external enemies primarily India for its self-inflicted wounds. While Pakistan fractures under its own ethnic and regional tensions, India continues to move forward as a functional democracy where federalism is respected, states enjoy constitutional autonomy, and linguistic, religious, and ethnic diversity are celebrated, not suppressed.

India's successful integration of states like the Northeast, Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir despite challenges demonstrates its ability to adapt, include, and empower. The same cannot be said for Pakistan, where the military decides policy and dissent is treated as treason. Unless Pakistan confronts the truth of the Indus Divide and ends the stranglehold of Punjab-centric politics, its internal divisions will continue to deepen. The choice is between reforming into a truly inclusive federation or heading toward further fragmentation. As Islamabad fumes over external issues, its most urgent war is not with India it’s with its own identity.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Hum English.