Pakistan, May 12 -- The rescue of Khair-un-Nisa should disturb Pakistan for reasons larger than the plot itself. A minor girl from Turbat, according to Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, was not merely found in the orbit of a banned group. She was allegedly being prepared for a suicide attack in Islamabad, placed under psychological pressure, threatened through her family, and turned into disposable material for a militant machine that now wants to dress child exploitation as politics. Pakistani authorities say an intelligence-based operation rescued her before the attack could be carried out and reunited her with her father.

The Balochistan Liberation Army and its affiliates have spent years cultivating a language of grievance, ...