Disquieting, indeed, for a number of reasons, is the ghastly Quetta terror of last Friday, in which a powerful bomb explosion, next to an army truck, caused the killing of, at least, 11 people, including two soldiers, injuring at least 27 others, including army personnel. The bomb, believed to be weighing at least 4 kg (8.8lb), strapped to a bicycle tore through a crowded market. Most of its victims were passers-by and vendors, the driver of the army vehicle being among the dead.
Reports have it that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a self-proclaimed nationalist group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that the army personnel were its real target.
"Civilians are not our target," BLA's spokesman Azad Baloch, is reported to have told reporters by telephone, and the bombing was "a warning to the government to stop the construction of new cantonments and Gwadar (deep-sea) port in Balochistan."
Similar incidents had also occurred in the past in Balochistan. Among others, reference may specifically be made to the killing of five soldiers and a civilian near Khuzdar in July by unidentified gunmen, which pointed to the terrorists having started resorting to a strategy different from the earlier attacks.
However, it will recalled that some one introducing himself as a "spokesman" of "Baloch National Army", was reported to have claimed responsibility for it, on behalf of BNA. These two similar incidents may be part of an attempt to create confusion about the affiliations of the terrorists and also to create the impression of an extensive resistance to development schemes as well as security measures initiated by the government.
In fact, several telephone calls were reported to have been made to newspaper offices in Quetta after the Khuzdar incident that the attack was in response to a military operation against Baloch militants, threatening similar attacks if the crackdown continued. It will also be recalled that dastardly shooting had taken place soon after an attempt on the life of Shaukat Aziz, who was to take over as the new Prime Minister.
Police were earlier reported to have blamed such activities on certain Baloch nationalists demanding greater control over the province's natural gas and mineral resources, in addition to political and economic rights.
Frequent attacks have been made in recent past on government installations, evidently for purposes of sabotage and resistance has been offered particularly to plans to add three military cantonments in the province, along with a demand for increased allocations for development. It will be noted that these issues have always figured prominently among the populist ideas around which nationalist politics has long revolved in Balochistan.
The government will need to take a serious view of the situation and devise more effective measures to nip the militancy in the bud, while launching a social development and welfare programme more vigorously to ensure that it brings about an immediate improvement in the daily life of the common man.
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