Speakers at a forum demanded that the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) shun the politics surrounding Balochistan’s security so that the public grievances and real issues of under development are better redressed. In the roundtable discussion on “Incessant Descent: The State of Security in Balochistan”, jointly organised by ActionAid Pakistan and the CRSS, issues were raised about the proper implementation of the Balochistan Rights Package and its security-related components were discussed in detail.
Speakers including Quaid-i-Azam University National Institute of Pakistan Studies Assistant Professor Dr Aasim Sajjad, Institute of Strategic Studies Research Fellow Amna Yousaf Khokhar, and Quaid-i-Azam University Defence and Strategic Studies Departmen Lecturer Naveed Qaisar said the federal government should stop treating Balochistan like a satellite state, and try to adopt an inclusive approach to addressing the Balochistan issue.
Qaisar said since 1948 till 1977 there were three traumatic episodes of the military running over the province. He said there were guerrilla forces operating in the area that were not willing to let down their arms until the government changed its attitude towards their land. Khokhar said the international players were becoming active due to the impending dearth of resources around the globe.
She narrated that issues of Indian involvement and Saudi-funded madrassahs should be taken care of by the state. She observed that sustained violence in Balochistan will push the province to a point of no return.
Dr Aasim highlighted that “kill and dump” operations in the province has instigated the young Balochis to take up arms against the state and this was an alarming trend. He said state policies had failed to bring about a positive change in the situation.
He said positive signals of reconciliation were being shown by hardcore nationalists like Brahmdagh Bugti and the government should build on this. Participating in the discussion, PPP leader Syeda Abida Hussain said political parties should take a leading role in the province to find political solutions to the conflict. In general, participants agreed that there was no remedy for the longstanding Balochistan issue but the political reconciliation of all stakeholders. They supported the idea of talking to Baloch dissidents without taking into account their past.