Balochistan’s heart bleeds

With the agencies a law unto themselves…

“Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”

–Louis D Brandeis, US Supreme Court judge

The inhuman practice of forced disappearances which has tarnished the image of Pakistan is not confined to one area or province alone. People have been whisked away by the security agencies from all the four provinces as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir and tribal areas and kept incommunicado in some cases for years. The largest number, of course, is from Balochistan. The disappearance of a man supporting a family shatters the household. Children can no more go to school, debts cannot be paid off, and daughters cannot be married off. A family living happily is devastated. The relatives run from pillar to post, trying to locate their dear ones but to no avail.

(Photographs by Banaras Khan)

Those lifted by the law enforcement mainly belong to two categories.

In the KP, Punjab, AJK and FATA the phenomenon became prominent after the ‘jihad’ sponsored by the agencies which was after 9/11 declared terrorism by Musharraf. In the 1980s thousands of people from these areas were brainwashed, trained and let loose on the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Even after the ‘inifdels’ left the country, the jihad continued, this time to ensure strategic depth in the neighbouring country and to train infiltrators meant to fight inside the Indian administered Kashmir.

_____________________________________________

‘There is a big difference in the number of the Baloch missing persons depending on who is doing the counting.’

_____________________________________________

When Musharraf announced an ‘about turn’ a whole generation of youth in FATA and those under the spell of jihad in other areas and provinces were simply stunned. Many subsequently turned on their erstwhile motivators in the security agencies and army.

There were elements in the army also who had got brainwashed in the process. Despite their training to act mechanically on caution, the about turn announced by Musharraf was too much for them. Quite a few joined hands with those fighting their own institution.

The arrested militants were treated as a special category. They remained in prolonged custody for questioning. While regaining control over Swat the army arrested hundreds of combatants and suspected to be involved in the fighting. Then there were those arrested in connection with attacks on the army personnel and installations all over the country. Another category comprised of those suspected to be in contact with the militant groups in one way or another.

The army is unwilling to disclose the number of those associated with the so called jihadi outfits in its custody. The militant organizations are not interested in revealing their names or seeking legal remedy for them. The cases that the Supreme Court took up initially belonged to this category.

Early this year the then Attorney General Irfan Qadir revealed that the security agencies were holding at least 700 people indefinitely without trial in connection with the “war on terror”.

The second and presumably the largest category of missing persons comprise the Baloch who were supposed to be under the influence of the nationalists and were whisked away for interrogation. Their ordeal started earlier than 9/11.

The first fact finding mission sent by the HRCP to Balochistan in December–January 2006 recorded evidence about a man made to disappear by army personnel as early as June 2000. As Pervez Musharraf’s grip tightened on the country, the army interference in the civilian affairs increased manifold. Instead of leaving the law and order issue in Dera Bugti and Kohlu to the civilian government, an operation was ordered in both areas. The law enforcing personnel brought from outside the province were not cognizant of Baloch customs and traditions and treated the population in a humiliating way. Kohlu was subjected to bombardment. This led to widespread resentment in the province. The law enforcement agencies upped the ante by more repression. Many more young men were taken away in violation of law for interrogation. Some never returned.

Things in Balochistan could have been brought under control through dialogue. This was successfully done under the previous PPP and PML-N administrations presided over by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. With the Baloch provided their share in power in the province and their elected representatives looking after their interests in the federal cabinet they were inching towards the mainstream forgetting ZAB’s military operation and the Zia era injustices. The militant networks presently operating in Balochistan were still not in existence. Nawab Akabar Bugti who had hitherto adhered to the mainstream politics was willing to settle the issue of the Baloch rights through talks. This was however unacceptable to Musharraf’s military mindset. He considered Bugti a personal challenge.

The issue of the gas royalty raised by Bugti could have been settled by displaying flexibility. In the early 1950s the Sui gas royalty for Balochistan, determined on a wellhead price was Rs9 per 1,000 square feet. By the end of 1990s it had gone up to Rs160 in Sindh and Rs240 in Punjab. The amount received as well-head price by Balochistan was only 12.5 per cent of the total while the rest 87.5 per cent went to the federal government, the PPL and the OGDCL. Bugti demanded the price and the provincial share to be rationalized.

_____________________________________________

‘The Supreme Court took up the phenomenon of forced disappearances, particularly of Balochistan, quite late. While its efforts further put the focus on the gravity of the matter it failed to stop the practice or to secure the release of the vast majority of missing persons.’

_____________________________________________

Musharraf refused to negotiate. The tension climaxed and the deployment of law enforcement agencies led to resistance. There was a rise in forced disappearances as many were arrested on mere suspicion of entertaining the nationalist sentiment. Thus a major grievance which enhanced with every passing year was added to the list of injustices committed on the Baloch. Musarraf’s training as a commando had not prepared him for conflict resolution through peaceful means. For him the solution to any conflict was a resort to the gun. He first sent the Frontier Costabulary, then the Rangers and finally the army.

Musharraf made the assessment of the conflict that lay ahead from a purely military angle, comparing the well trained soldiers and latest weapons and air force at his disposal with the rag tag Bugti tribe equipped mostly with pre-WWll rifles and a few Kalashnikovs. What he underrated was the human element, the Baloch sense of honour and the will to resist.

Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing turned out to be a watershed. Over the next few years, resistance spread all over the Baloch areas. A number of armed groups calling for secession came into existence and initiated guerilla operations. Balochistan, where people from other province had lived peacefully for decades, attacks on Punjabis became common. When law enforcing agencies become lawless, it encourages others to break law.

With the restoration of democracy in 2008 the PPP had the opportunity to stop the inhuman practice of forced disappearances, secure the release of those in the custody of the army and the agencies. A couple of nationalist leaders were set free which led to pressures from the powerful quarters and the PPP government agreed to let the FC and security agencies rule the province as before.

While the scope of provincial autonomy was enhanced through the 18th amendment, Balochistan continued to be ruled by the FC and security agencies under the army. The considerable funds provided to the province disappeared in the deep pockets of Raisani’s cabinet members. Under the PPP there was a phenomenal increase in the number of missing persons. Added to the ignominy were the bodies of the missing persons bearing torture marks that were dumped all over the province.

There is a big difference in the number of the Baloch missing persons depending on who is doing the counting. The Commission on the Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances, with a pro-establishment tilt put the number at 621 in its report. The interior ministry says there are over 1,400 missing in the province. The nationalist NGO Baloch Missing Persons has taken the count to 23,000. Many think the number runs in thousands.

The army and the FC have denied that they ever indulged in forced disappearances. During almost a year long hearing in Balochistan the evidence produced before the Supreme Court led the learned judges to conclude that the FC and the security agencies were behind many disappearances. In another case regarding the production of 35 detainees, the apex court concluded that the army had taken them away from a detention centre in Lakki Marwat. The involvement of army controlled security agencies was also established in the Adiyala jail abductees case.

_____________________________________________

‘Issues like the missing persons cannot be resolved on a permanent basis unless the government is able to ensure the supremacy of the civil power over the military establishment. The question is whether Nawaz Sharif can do it.’

_____________________________________________

The HRCP was the first to bring the dirt out from under the carpet. It sent several fact finding missions to probe the latest developments. The reports helped raise public concern regarding the missing persons. This is all the rights watch group could do.

Sections of the media were the next to highlight the issue. The Supreme Court took up the phenomenon of forced disappearances, particularly of Balochistan, quite late. While its efforts further put the focus on the gravity of the matter it failed to stop the practice or to secure the release of the vast majority of missing persons.

The PPP coalition comprising parties with different aims failed to tackle the issue of the missing persons though it steered the 18th amendment through parliament to address the vital dispute concerning autonomy.

Now the ball is in the court of the PML-N government which possesses absolute majority in the National Assembly.

The propagation of jihadi sentiment and the creation of militant networks were initiated under a military ruler and amounted to playing with fire. The policy however was pursued after Zia’s death by the military leadership. The insurgency in Balochistan is the outcome of Pervez Musharraf’s involvement of the army in matters that it has no training to deal with. Issues like the missing persons cannot be resolved on a permanent basis unless the government is able to ensure the supremacy of the civil power over the military establishment. The question is whether Nawaz Sharif can do it.