US President Donald Trump recently announced a trade agreement with Pakistan to jointly develop what he described as "massive oil reserves" within the country.

Following this announcement, Mir Yar Baloch, a prominent leader of the Baloch nationalist movement, has strongly refuted Pakistan's claim to these oil, gas, and other mineral resources, asserting that they lie within the sovereign territory of the Republic of Balochistan, which declared independence in May 2025.

Mir Yar Baloch conveyed this position in a public letter to Trump, shared on X (formerly Twitter), where he accused Pakistan of making false claims to exploit these resources for financial gain without the consent of the Baloch people, who he says are the legitimate owners of vast deposits including oil, rare earth elements, copper, lithium, and uranium.

Mir Yar Baloch warned that any US-Pakistan partnership to develop these resources would empower Pakistan’s military and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which he called a rogue agency notorious for sponsoring terrorism.

He expressed concern that financially supporting Pakistan through such deals would indirectly fund global terrorism, including anti-India and anti-Israel militant operations, and could destabilise the region with threats similar to past terror attacks like 9/11. He emphasised that the profits from resource exploitation would never benefit the Baloch people but would be diverted to militant proxies backed by Pakistan’s security establishment.

The Baloch leader also stressed that Balochistan’s sovereignty is non-negotiable, reiterating that the territory is currently under illegal Pakistani occupation. He warned against allowing Pakistan, China, or any foreign power to exploit Balochistan’s resources without the explicit consent of the local people—a stance reinforced by the hashtag #BalochistanIsNotPakistan.

This letter and stance have reignited international debate about the ownership of natural resources in Balochistan and the broader implications of foreign involvement in the region.

Meanwhile, the claim of "massive oil reserves" in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, has been widely disputed. Independent data and reports indicate that Pakistan's proven oil reserves are relatively minor compared to global standards, estimated between approximately 234 million to 353.5 million barrels—an insignificant fraction (about 0.021%) of global oil reserves.

Most of Pakistan's oil and gas exploration efforts, including extensive offshore drilling by companies like ExxonMobil, ENI, and Pakistan Petroleum, have failed to confirm large commercial quantities of oil or gas. Pakistan remains a major oil importer despite these claims. The so-called "massive oil reserves" narrative has been described by critics as overstated or even a hoax, a claim initially popularised by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan but later denied by official Pakistani agencies.

Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social platform stated that the US and Pakistan had concluded a deal and were selecting an oil company to lead exploration and development, highlighting the potential for future oil sales that could even reach India.

However, concrete details about the location and extent of these reserves, as well as the timeline for development, remain unspecified. Most estimates suggest that any meaningful reserves would lie in insurgency-affected Balochistan, further complicating the political and security situation.

This complex backdrop of disputed sovereignty, resource ownership, and geopolitical rivalry has heightened tensions, with Baloch leaders cautioning that such deals will deepen instability and fuel long-standing conflicts in the region. The international community’s response to these competing narratives and the legitimacy of Pakistan’s control over Balochistan’s resources is still uncertain.

The announcement of a US-Pakistan deal on developing oil reserves is deeply contested. The Baloch leadership outright rejects Islamabad’s claims, warning that any partnership risks energising Pakistan’s military-intelligence apparatus known for terror sponsorship, undermining regional stability, and ignoring the sovereignty claims of the Baloch people.

At the same time, independent assessments question the scale of Pakistan’s oil wealth, suggesting that the narrative of “massive reserves” does not align with the ground reality.

Based On ANI Report