It is deeply distressing that the confrontation between the Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and the Federal government ended in a military operation that killed him along with 30 of his tribesmen and at least 25 soldiers.
Commenting on the incident which is likely to have grave political repercussions, President General Pervez Musharraf said on Sunday that the government would take 'every step' to ensure that the writ of the state is established in Balochistan and other parts of the country. Sadly, in the present case, the government relied more heavily on the use of military force than that of persuasion through dialogue.
It is known to all that the challenge to the writ of the state had sprung from a widespread and deep-seated Baloch sense of deprivation regarding political and economic rights, which called for a political dialogue. In fact, recognising the need for resolving political issues through political means the government had set up two parliamentary committees, and they did hold discussions with the Nawab.
For a time it seemed that it was possible to resolve the stand-off. Unfortunately, not much patience was shown that was needed to settle the issues that originated in a long history of discontent; instead the government acted the way it did partly because those at the helm are trained to deal with any sort of threat with physical force and partly because they have little patience with a political process of dispute resolution that is often long drawn and results in a compromise with no winners or losers.
The government accuses the Baloch sardars of hindering new development projects for fear that their hold over the lives of ordinary people would weaken. Yet it perpetuated the system as it continued to designate A and B areas for administrative purposes. Wisdom demanded that it should have made gradual efforts to bring the whole province within the mainstream. Sudden changes more often than not lead to upheavals.
In any case, the bigger issue that brought Bugti, and earlier some other tribal leaders, into conflict with the federation are born out of a general feeling of discontent. In fact, provincial autonomy related dissatisfaction is present in all the three smaller provinces in varying degrees, putting pressures on the Federal-provincial relations.
The situation could be avoided if there had been well established federal structures with in-built safety against possible tyranny of the majority. Besides, people needed to have true representation with all federating units having an equal say in decision making processes relating to economic development and political questions.
Nawab Bugti was no radical politician. He may have been stubborn in his ways, but he had been a part and parcel of the established political order, having served in the past as his province's governor and later as chief minister - often to the chagrin of his fellow nationalists.
His elimination, while he stood firm to claim what a lot of people in Balochistan see as their legitimate rights, has given the nationalists a martyr for their cause. The circumstances of his death have swiftly transited Nawab Bugti from being a traditional tribal chief and politician to a Baloch hero, the kind of which is the stuff of local folklore.
Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani declared on Sunday, Bugti's death "has no political dimension" and that it poses no threat to national harmony. Contrary to his claims the passions in Balochistan are highly inflamed. The news of his death triggered widespread protests in Balochistan and Sindh with some of the Baloch nationalist leaders vowing not to let things cool down.
The Opposition parties in other parts of the country also reacted strongly to the incident, condemning the killing and warning the government of serious consequences. It is hard to say at this point what direction the protests in Balochistan might take. The challenge to the writ of the state posed by Baloch nationalists has hardly vanished.