Actor Salman Khan's statement on Balochistan has gone viral after he recently shared the stage with Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan at the Joy Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
While referring to expat communities who migrated to the Middle East, he mentioned Balochistan and Pakistan separately in a video that triggered speculations.
"If you make a Hindi film and release it here (in Saudi Arabia), it will be a superhit. If you make a Tamil, Telugu, or Malayali (sic) film, it will do hundreds of crores in business because so many people from other countries have come here. There are people from Balochistan, there are people from Afghanistan, there are people from Pakistan... everyone is working here," he said.
Soon fans came up with speculations, with some claiming that it an intentional jab at Pakistan.
"When @BeingSalmanKhan said 'Balochistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan...' - it speaks volumes. Balochistan is not a Pakistani province - it's a nation. Baloch is our identity and our state," a user posted.
"Even Salman Khan admitted that Balochistan is a separate country," one user said while another asserted, "He knows exactly what he said."
Others were quick to dismiss it as a 'slip of tongue'. "I don't know if it was slip of tongue, but this is amazing! Salman Khan separates 'people of Balochistan' from 'people of Pakistan'," wrote a user.
"We really shouldn't expect geopolitical precision from Bollywood," a third one said.
Others pointed out that it was lack of knowledge. "Slip of tongue from Salman Khan or lack of knowledge or deliberate hint that Balochistan is 'independent'? That too with Aamir Khan & SRK on dais?" posted a netizen.
Balochistan is a province of Pakistan and has witnessed separatist protests and deadly militant attacks in recent years. The militants has intensified targeted killings and abduction of government officials posted in Balochistan.
Heavily armed and banned insurgent groups have been operating in the restive province. On March 11, the Jaffar Express train was hijacked on the way to Peshawar, eventually killing 21 passengers and four security personnel. Recently, the same train was targeted in a bombing attack, killing a dozen-odd people on September 24.