'The core problem is Pakistan, it exported nuclear know-how to Iran: Baloch leader blasts Munir for 'misleading' Trump

Baloch nationalist leader Hyrbyair Marri has accused Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir of misleading US President Donald Trump during their recent White House meeting, calling Pakistan — not Balochistan — the core source of regional instability and nuclear proliferation.

Responding to a Reuters report on Munir's warning to Trump that “occupied Balochistan on both the Iranian and Pakistani sides would become a problem if Iran were to collapse,” Marri said the framing was “not only misleading but deeply dishonest.”

“The Americans should not heed to this unscrupulous general,” Marri said in a detailed post on X. He argued that the instability in the Middle East and South Asia stems not from Baloch nationalist groups but from the longstanding policies of Tehran and Islamabad. “The real sources of instability in the region are the Iranian and Pakistani Islamic republics, both of which have long histories of fueling extremism and suppressing occupied nations through violence and state-sponsored terrorism.” 

Marri detailed how Iran has used proxies like the Houthis, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and Iraqi militias to export its influence across the region. He accused Pakistan of adopting a similar model by supporting “terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to conduct attacks in Kashmir in India, and using various factions to wage a bloody civil war in Afghanistan for decades.”

“These are not isolated incidents but a well-planned policy of using extremism and militancy as tools of foreign policy,” he said.

He also warned Western governments against ignoring Pakistan’s role in nuclear proliferation. “Americans and the West should not forget that the core of the problem is Pakistan because it exported nuclear know-how to Iran, Libya and North Korea,” Marri said.

Marri criticised both countries for what he called “nuclear brinkmanship.” He said Iran’s uranium proliferation and Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal have been used to extract “cushy financial aid, international concessions, and legitimacy for their authoritarian regimes.”

He added that both regimes have entrenched their control by using terrorism and intimidation against ethnic and stateless groups. “Their strategy of exporting terrorism and threatening regional powers, including their neighbours, Israel and India, has only entrenched their rule on the occupied nations like Baloch, Pashtuns, Kurds, Al Ahwaz Arabs, Azeri Turks and others.”

Rejecting the idea that Baloch groups contribute to instability, Marri said: “The Baloch struggle is not rooted in extremism but in a legitimate movement for dignity, justice, and freedom.”

He urged the international community to reconsider its narrative: “If the world seeks true peace and tranquility in the Middle East and South Asia, it must stop viewing Balochistan through the lens of Pakistani or Iranian propaganda. The time has come to recognise who the real threats are and who are the potential partners for peace and stability. Independent Balochistan is the need of the hour.”

Marri's remarks came in response to a Reuters report that revealed General Asim Munir raised concerns about separatist and jihadist outfits on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border, warning they could escalate attacks if Iranian state authority collapses. Pakistan is also reportedly uneasy about Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and fears the precedent such action could set.

The Iranian Sunni jihadist group Jaish al-Adl — which draws support from ethnic Baluch minorities and operates from Pakistani territory — welcomed the upheaval. On June 13, the group released a statement calling the Israeli-Iran conflict “a great opportunity,” urging Baluch and Iranian military forces to “join the ranks of the Resistance.”

Pakistan, on the other hand, fears that separatist Baloch militants based in Iran could exploit the instability to launch fresh attacks on its side of the border.