Now or never
An independent think tank’s report regarding Balochistan makes for encouraging reading. According to its findings militant attacks, which had again become a recurring problem not too long ago, declined by 41 percent in ’15 compared to the previous year. While this shows how much militancy had increased until about a couple of years ago, the declining trend is also indicative of proactive security work, which must be built upon. Serious challenges remain, of course, but civilian and military successes have combined to give the new chief minister a good start.
There were clear attempts by the usual ‘hidden hands’ to stoke ethnic as well as sectarian tensions and bloodshed. Going by the report, it was security agencies – civilian as well as military – whose timely action neutralised these threats before they could gain momentum. The soft, diplomatic outreach has also been successful. Efforts to negotiate errant militants back into the mainstream, and getting them to surrender weapons, etc, have been encouraging. Knocking off or arresting the odd top tier insurgent has also helped.
This is clearly a make or break moment for Balochistan. It has been far too ignored for far too long. But now, with CPEC running through it, it must either be brought up to par or the whole project will go astray. Security agencies, apparently, are alert of the threats such bonanzas bring. There have, according to the report, been efforts at ‘covert operations’ by foreign intelligence agencies, but they were controlled in time. Only once the security environment has been handled will the necessary infrastructure, physical as well as financial, be erected to ‘absorb’ CPEC. Therefore, complete success on the security front cannot be stressed enough. The government, and the military, must now ensure that NAP is thoroughly implemented in Balochistan so the necessary groundwork for economic advancement can also be laid.
