Pakistan is increasingly accused of deploying jihadist proxies to silence political dissent while presenting itself as a victim of terror internationally, according to a new report. The claim follows the September 2 suicide bombing outside Quetta’s Shahwani Stadium, which killed 15 and injured 32 after a nationalist rally by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M). The attack was claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Analysts argue the targeting of a political gathering marked a departure from ISKP’s usual focus on religious sites and security convoys. “Daesh on its own doesn’t usually strike political meetings in Balochistan. Someone wanted this message sent,” a Quetta-based analyst told Dawn.

The report pointed out that Pakistan has long faced allegations of double-dealing—fighting some militant groups while supporting others. Journalist Ahmed Rashid noted in his book Descent into Chaos that after 2001, Pakistan’s ISI sheltered Taliban fighters while presenting itself as Washington’s counter-terror ally. Similarly, political scientist C. Christine Fair has described Islamabad’s approach as “calibrated violence.”

The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in its 2024 report, also warned that Pakistan relies on paramilitaries and proxies to manage unrest in provinces. The Quetta bombing, it said, fits this pattern, with ISKP being used as a tool.

Baloch armed groups signaled possible retaliation. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) accused Islamabad of using Daesh against their people and vowed to respond. Security officials fear renewed ambushes on Pakistani troops in Quetta, Gwadar, and along the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Critics dismissed condemnations from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari as hollow, with one Dawn columnist writing: “You cannot claim to fight extremism while keeping extremists as your tools.”