RAW’s Hand Behind Oslo’s Curtain
When news broke that Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the face of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, it wasn’t just surprising, it felt staged. The leak came through journalist Kiyya Baloch, who, for years, has echoed separatist narratives. And the name behind that leak? Jørgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. On its own, that might sound like gossip inside. But once you start connecting the dots, it looks less like chance and more like choreography.
How did the story leak?
The Nobel process is supposed to be secret. If something slips out, especially from the committee chair’s circle, that alone is unusual. Yet the information ends up with Kiyya, someone whose work often lines up neatly with India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). That’s where the alarm bells ring.
The Nobel’s credibility gives legitimacy to whoever it touches, and in this case, it’s been funneled straight into the hands of someone shaping separatist propaganda.
The BYC, BLA, and RAW triangle
To understand the stakes, you must look at who’s involved. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) isn’t just a group with grievances, it’s officially banned, listed internationally for suicide attacks and bombings against civilians and Chinese projects. Pakistan’s 2020 dossier to the UN laid out RAW’s role in funding and arming them.
Now, BYC, under Mahrang’s leadership, doesn’t carry guns. They carry slogans and stage protests. But those slogans erasing Pakistan’s borders, delegitimizing institutions, mirror the BLA’s worldview almost word for word.
One provides the violence, the other sanitizes it as “resistance”, and RAW supplies the backing. It’s a division of labor: the gun, the story, the money.
Why Oslo matters
Here’s where it gets worrying. Jørgen Frydnes isn’t just another Norwegian official. As chair of the Nobel Committee, his words, his actions, even whispers from his circle carry weight. When details of Mahrang’s nomination are tied back to him and then amplified by Kiyya, it creates a bridge: RAW’s propaganda on one side, Nobel’s moral authority on the other. Suddenly, what was once seen as insurgency gets rebranded as a “human rights struggle” and packaged for a global audience.
India’s bigger play
For Delhi, this is a win. India has spent years trying to reframe Baloch militancy as freedom-seeking rather than foreign-sponsored terrorism. Getting Mahrang Baloch into Nobel conversations would be a propaganda jackpot. It shifts the narrative: Pakistan isn’t facing outside-backed terrorism, it’s supposedly crushing a peace activist worthy of the world’s top prize. That’s exactly the framing RAW wants in play. And if you look at the timing, it doesn’t feel accidental.
Jørgen took over the Nobel Committee in February 2024. By May, Mahrang was in Norway, connecting with PEN Norway and advocacy groups tied to Nobel’s orbit. Around the same time, exile journalists, many echoing RAW’s lines, were busy amplifying her voice in Western outlets. Step by step, the stage was being set.
Norway’s blind spot
To be fair, groups like PEN Norway probably believe they’re supporting genuine human rights activism. But good intentions can be exploited. If they’re relying on narratives supplied by exile journalists closely aligned with separatist circles, they risk becoming carriers of someone else’s script. When those stories flow into the Nobel ecosystem, neutrality gets compromised.
Why Pakistan can’t shrug this off
Inside Pakistan, laws like the Surveying & Mapping Amendment Act of 2020 make it illegal to erase borders or distort maps. That’s about defending sovereignty at home. But what happens when those same distortions are laundered abroad through Nobel nominations, media platforms, and advocacy campaigns? The impact is arguably greater, because once global institutions pick up the narrative, it’s harder to challenge.
Pakistan needs to take this seriously. That means engaging Norway diplomatically, reminding them of RAW’s role in funding terrorism. It also means stepping up its own outreach. If separatists can reframe their cause as peaceful activism in European capitals, Pakistan must counter with facts, evidence, and credible voices on the same stage.
The simple truth
Strip away the noise, and the picture looks like this: RAW fuels militancy, BYC dresses it up as activism, Kiyya sells the story abroad, and Nobel’s name risks becoming the stamp of approval. If that chain isn’t broken, insurgency gets dressed as peace, and propaganda becomes global fact.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
