The Balochistan government made a formal request last Friday to the Federal government to provide security at the natural gas installations in the Sui area, where a recent incident of gang rape of a doctor had triggered fierce clashes between Baloch nationalists and the security forces, resulting in the death of 18 people and disruption of gas supplies to many parts of the country.
Provincial Home Minister Mir Shoaib Nausherwani, later told journalists that the reasons for seeking help from the Centre are to secure these installations that are of vital economic importance, and to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to consumers.
These are sound enough reasons for the province to ask for extra security at the gas installations. However, there is a growing fear in many that the request is a prelude to the launch a military operation in the area, which can lead to disastrous consequences, political as well as economic, for the country.
In fact, a reverberation of that fear was detectable in Nausherwani's statement too, as he disclosed that the provincial government has asked the Federal government to refrain from launching any military operation in the restive area.
In view of the gravity of the situation, MQM leader Altaf Hussain, has said that his party might quit the coalition government if it resorts to military action.
In fact, there is a consensus of opinion among all the political forces that this issue as well as the simmering Baloch discontent and anger over a number of other questions related to the rights of that province's people must be addressed through a peaceful negotiation process that the government itself had recently initiated through a Senate committee.
It is reassuring, therefore, to hear conciliatory statements that have been emanating from the governmental quarters lately. Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said in Karachi on Friday that the Army has been sent to Balochistan to guard sensitive installations, and not to launch any operation.
He also said that those involved in the rape incident - which outraged the moral sensibility of the Baloch people in particular and all decent people in the country in general - will not be spared.
Unfortunately, however, there is a feeling that the government should have done more to show that it is serious about bringing the alleged culprits to book. In fact, Nausherwani revealed that the provincial government had wanted to arrest all the suspects, but then stopped short of saying what prevented it from taking the right action.
All he could say was that the accused involved in the case should come forward voluntarily to clarify their position. Contrary to such expectations, the other day the Prime Minister came out in defence of the main suspect by offering as weird a justification as can be.
The officer, he said, had gotten married only about two weeks before the rape incident. There can be a number of counter arguments to this justification, but they would be best left unstated in this space.
The mood of Baloch nationalists clearly indicates that they are not going to forgive or forget the incident that has triggered so much violence in the Sui area. Abdur Rauf, an MNA of the Balochistan National Party, vowed at a press conference in Rawalpindi on Friday that the people of Balochistan would never calm down without seeing the five security men [suspected culprits] being brought to justice.
He asked the government to register an FIR against them. That is a perfectly legitimate demand, and there is no reason why the government should hesitate to meet it.