EDITORIAL: A wave of violence unleashed by militants on Sunday in different parts of Balochistan claimed at least 50 lives. Ten soldiers and four law enforcement agencies’ personnel also embraced martyrdom. In Musakhel, a district bordering Punjab, 23 people from Punjab were pulled out of a bus and after checking their identity documents were shot dead.
The victims included truck drivers carrying coal and fruit to Punjab via the Loralai – D G Khan Highway. As many as 35 trucks and other vehicles were set on fire. While in coordinated attacks militants aimed at security forces and civilians hailing from Punjab, two suicide bombers, one of them a woman, targeted the Frontier Corps camp in Bela.
They also blocked several highways, including the Coastal Highway which links Gwadar with Karachi. The separatist outfit Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a statement issued on Monday, military’s media wing, ISPR, said, “security forces and law enforcement agencies immediately responded and successfully thwarted the evil designs of the terrorist and sent 21 terrorists to hell in ensuing clearance operations, ensuring security and protection of local populace.”
Balochistan has been restive for the last seven decades because of a pervasive sense of deprivation of economic and political rights. Nationalist leaders and activists have periodically taken up arms against central governments. The present insurgency erupted after the August 26, 2006, killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in his Kohlu hideout.
During the recent years, various insurgent groups are said to have been brought together by Pakistan’s arch rival India under the umbrella of BLA with the express purpose of destabilising this country. These militants have been targeting the security forces, Chinese interests, and killed many poor Punjabis working at various construction sites.
Leaders of nationalist Baloch parties who believe in democratic struggle for their people’s genuine rights, such as the BNP leader Akhtar Mengal, and NP’s Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, former Chief Minister of the province, have been urging the Centre to rectify the situation through dialogue with whom they call ‘angry Baloch’.
As CM, Dr Malik had travelled to London in 2014 to persuade insurgency leaders living in exile to come to the negotiating table. But his effort did not go far since he had a limited mandate. And the insurgency continued in ebbs and flows. The militants have now intensified their fight against the state.
What happened in that province on Sunday cannot be condemned enough. Those who attacked security forces, the police, and innocent civilians must be dealt with a heavy hand. But the factors causing Baloch people’s alienation from the federation and impelling many of them to take up arms also need to be addressed.
They have legitimate grievances against the Centre, especially lack of control over their economic resources further exacerbated by the despicable practice of enforced disappearances. Soon after taking office last March, Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti in his provincial assembly speech had invited “angry people” to talks, saying dialogue is the right path to resolve all issues, and that his party believes in dialogue and reconciliation for resolving any conflict.
Following the latest atrocity, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi while denouncing the “destructive incident” as a conspiracy to create instability in Pakistan and promising that a tit-for-tat response will be given, also spoke about seeking a political solution. Only by empowering the pro-federation Baloch nationalist leaders to do what they deem right can Islamabad deal with the insurgents in an effective and meaningful manner.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024