Playing with fire

Reckless policies and feckless administration

Two explanations are given for the emergence of so many killer groups in Balochistan which are currently having a field day. First, sheer incompetence on the part of the provincial government, particularly Chief Minister Raisani. Second, the establishment’s peculiar policies in Balochistan which led to the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti and the unending kidnappings and killings of Baloch political activists. The acts have continued despite notice taken by the Supreme Court which has held the Frontier Corps responsible for several cases of abduction and killings. Violation of law by state actors has led to the emergence of Baloch resistance groups who continue killing settlers and immigrant labourers indiscriminately. The patronage provided to certain jihadi groups willing to act as pawns in Afghanistan after the departure of Nato troops, has led them to freely indulge in the ethnic cleansing of the Hazara Shias in Quetta.
On Friday, six ANP activists were killed in a bomb explosion at the party’s rally in Kuchlak near Quetta. There is a perception that the attack was planned by the TTP which moves freely in Balochistan and has targeted the party rallies several times in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On Thursday, bullet-riddled bodies of a kidnapped doctor and six coal miners were found in Degari area. All the miners were poor labourers hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who had come to Balochistan to eke out a living. The BLA has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. The tragic incident led hundreds of PkMAP workers and miners to take the dead bodies to Balochistan High Court where the CJ was hearing the case of forced disappearances.
The bloodthirsty and thoroughly non-political Baloch secessionists are the creation of the establishment’s ill-conceived policies in the province. Their actions could provoke a highly dangerous confrontation between the Baloch and the Pashtun in the province. The establishment of the rule of law is the most effective way to deal with elements like the BLA. This requires reining in the intelligence agencies and law enforcement bodies in Balochistan. Pakistan has suffered a lot on account of the unrealistic strategies devised by offstage players. Neither the army nor the judiciary has the vision or the expertise to run the country. Politicians alone can do this if given a free hand which has so far failed to happen in Pakistan. The country could meet irretrievable setbacks if crucial policy decisions continue to be taken by pip- dreaming offstage players in the name of the political administration.