New Delhi: Bordering Afghanistan and Iran, Balochistan, is Pakistan's largest province by size and also its most troubled area.
The people of Balochistan have often accused the Pakistani central government of exploiting their rich natural resources without giving adequate political or economic powers to the province in return.
After decades of muted protests, the Baloch Liberation Army launched a major insurgency in 2000 highlighting discriminatory treatment by the central government. The insurgency was crushed militarily but sporadic violence continues in the province.
Islamabad accuses India's external Intelligence agency, the RAW, of aiding the Baloch rebels from India's consulates in southern Afghanistan -- a charge that India has been consistently denying.
But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to include a reference to Balochistan in the Indo-Pak joint statement on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Sharm-al Sheikh has put India on the backfoot and the Indian PM in a spot of political trouble.