Suddenly, an otherwise well-informed Washington has discovered that its partner in the fight against the extremist militants is violating human rights in Balochistan. The media and human rights organisation in Pakistan have protested for nearly a decade against the way political workers of nationalist leanings were being made to disappear in the province. During the last four years, the Supreme Court has tried without much success to recover the missing persons. Finally, the task has been assigned to a commission whose report has yet to be made public. Meanwhile, things have taken an even nastier turn. Numerous nationalist leaders and activists have been killed during the period by unknown persons, Habib Jalib Baloch and Maula Bux Dashti being the latest examples. Despite providing the security of life being one of the most important duties of the state, the government has failed to stop the killings or trace out the mysterious killers. Of late, dead bodies of some of the missing persons, bearing torture signs, have been found dumped at various places in the province. The happenings have led the extremist elements among the nationalists to wreak vengeance on settlers, scores of whom have been gunned down over the last few years while hundreds have been forced to leave the province.
The timing of the reminder from Washington creates doubts about its real intentions. The US has of late been pressuring Pakistan army to initiate operations in North Waziristan. The army has shown reluctance to fulfill the demand on grounds that look reasonable. Is this another pressure tactic to push the unwilling army into action?
Violations of human rights in Balochistan and elsewhere must be brought to an end. Besides being unlawful these are adding to the grievances of the people, alienating the youth and harming national integrity. No citizen should be deprived of life or liberty without the due process of law. It would improve the armys image if it conducts an independent probe and punishes any persons in uniform who are found to have been involved in human rights violations. What is more, it should make public the results of the probe into the video which surfaced more than three months back and showed a military squad shooting bound and blindfolded men in traditional clothing.
