Mengal's six points

Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, President of Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and former chief minister of Balochistan's unexpected response to the Supreme Court summons on the heart rending case of forced disappearances, with some family members running from pillar to post for years seeking their whereabouts, should be welcomed by all Pakistanis particularly those who take an oath to protect the constitution.
Article 14 of the constitution of Pakistan states that "the dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolate; No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence."
Mengal's very presence in the federal capital irrespective of his openly accusing the establishment of violating human rights in Balochistan in defiance of Pakistani laws and constitution reflects that all is not lost. Calls for a separate Baloch homeland allegedly backed by Pakistan's external enemies are cited as the raison d'etre for the ongoing engagement in the hapless province.
Those who believe that suppression through the bullet is the only way to tame the recalcitrant Baloch must surely see the writing clearly emblazoned on the wall. Pakistani governments have engaged militarily with the Baloch three times in history: 1958, 1974 and the ongoing engagement that began under the command of Pervez Musharraf. Calls for Baloch independence and armed insurrection led by Baloch sardars have marked all three engagements.
At the present stage of the conflict neither protagonist can argue that they are blameless. The rising number of non-Baloch (including those hailing from Hazara Shia community and Punjab) mercilessly killed after verification of their identification, casualties of law enforcement personnel and destruction of infrastructure including gas pipelines are going hand in hand with torture, murder and forced disappearance of those considered to be anti-Pakistan Baloch. The consequent vicious cycle that has been generated where the tortured death of a supporter of one side of the conflict is followed by an equally horrendous revenge murder by the other is not unique in the annals of ethnic/sectarian conflict in world history. The Irish Republican Army as a case in point was responsible for the brutal murder of many for decades with offensive as well as retaliatory strikes by the British military. The resolution of the conflict eventually came not through the bullet but talks. Closer to home the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan recently signalled his willingness to talk to Kurdish separatists. This offer is in spite of, or what some argue, because of the fact that since 2011 the Turkish military killed more than 700 Kurds as per the International Crisis Group but failed to contain the contagion of conflict.
Pakistan should draw some valuable lessons from the way the British tackled the Irish problem and Erdogan's tacit acknowledgement that the military option has failed. The first lesson that must be drawn is that guerrilla warfare is difficult to contain by established armies. In the case of the Kurds as well as the Baloch the terrain facilitates guerrilla warfare. Second, to assume that military operations in spite of a media blackout will not filter out to the world at large given the modern communication system is being too simplistic. The authorities who sanction military operations therefore make themselves vulnerable to detractors who may be able to internationalise the issue - be they enemy countries, human rights activists (Transparency International that together with other international agencies regularly monitor conflict) or indeed lone crusaders with little or no knowledge of the region or the nature of the conflict.
In 2011 three US lawmakers introduced a resolution for the first time ever in the House of Representatives stating that the Baloch nation has the right to self-determination. The motivator of the resolution was Congressman Rohrabacher who stated that "the Baloch like other nations, have an innate right to self determination. The political and ethnic discrimination they suffer is tragic and made more so because America is financing and selling arms to their oppressors in Islamabad." The Obama administration distanced itself from this statement which, without doubt, was to some extent due to Pakistan's relevance as a key ally in the war on terror. Turkey's role in world affairs is greater than Pakistan's however it may be recalled that Turkey has paid a heavy price for its military engagement with Kurdish separatists as it continues to delay its entry into the European Union. In Pakistan's case once the US troops leave Afghanistan scheduled for 2014 then there is a possibility of greater support in the US for the Baloch separatists.
The only formula which has, time and again, shown some success in dealing with internal conflict has been talks in which a compromise is painstakingly reached and is not without hitches. The question at present is if any of Mengal's six preconditions submitted in the court are unacceptable: (i) all covert and overt military operations must cease immediately, (ii) all missing should be procured before a court of law, (iii) all proxy death squads operating under the alleged supervision of security forces be disbanded, (iv) all Baloch parties should be allowed to function and resume their political activities without interference from intelligence agencies, (v) persons responsible for torture and killing of Baloch should be brought to justice, and (vi) measures be initiated to rehabilitate Baloch.
The response of the establishment submitted to the court denies that a single disappeared is in the custody of Pakistani Intelligence, denies the existence of death squads and denies there is an ongoing military operation in Balochistan. Even those who support the Frontier Constabulary's engagement in Balochistan are unlikely to be convinced of the veracity of this response. They would instead focus on highlighting issues that plague Balochistan today including the alleged existence of the Quetta Shura, a Taliban group that the US accuses Pakistan intelligence agencies of supporting, and the criminal elements that have joined forces with the Baloch separatists and who are engaged in murder, kidnapping, wilful destruction of public and private property of the non-Baloch. They also accuse Baloch sardars, handpicked by the administration, of receiving royalty from the federal government and using it not to launch development schemes for their people through increasing education and health facilities but for personal gain. The current Baloch government all are compelled to admit - even die hard supporters, of the ongoing policy - is simply not representative of the Baloch people.
In turn, the Baloch have accused the government of using the natural resources of the province not to develop Balochistan, which remains the least developed province, but on the rest of the country. And to engage in human rights violations - a charge strengthened by demands of family members of the disappeared.
Commissions to evaluate the genuineness of grievances and give recommendations have been supported by the federal government. Musharraf-approved Chaudhry Shujaat commission's recommendations were not implemented; while as per Mengal the Justice Javed Iqbal commission's findings are suspect as he never went beyond Quetta.
Mengal has so far met Nawaz Sharif and the joint press conference showed that the two were on the same page. It is, however, unfortunate that no government minister or senior member of the establishment has bothered to meet Sardar Mengal yet.
It is not easy to forget the past especially a bloodied past which has taken its toll on both protagonists but there are instances in the world where the past is, perhaps not forgiven or forgotten, but where reconciliation has paved the way for a new generation that does not bear the scars of the conflict which, in turn, allows the past's rancour to die.
The onus for the reconciliation can never be with the militarily weaker side and therefore it is not up to the Baloch to seek rapprochement but the establishment, a powerful body that has the capacity if not the mandate to undertake negotiations on behalf of this country. While this no doubt undermines claims of democracy yet in this instance one can only hope that the country's political leadership unanimously supports talks between Baloch leadership and the true decision-makers.