IDSP-Pakistan Killings in Balochistan continue
November 2, 2012When
people all over Pakistan will be celebrating Eid-ul-Azha, the people of
Balochistan will be mourning their loved ones. The responsibility for
this lies with the Pakistan military, its intelligence agencies and the
Frontier Corps (FC). The entire nation should be ashamed of the
brutalities unleashed by the military against its own people in
Balochistan. Javed Naseer Rind, a young journalist, was abducted in
September and his tortured, bullet-riddled body was found the other day
in the province. More than a dozen Baloch, including women, were killed
last week in less than 24 hours during a military campaign in
Balochistan; the same week when the FC was placed under the provincial
government of Balochistan. The fifth military operation of our history
is underway against the people of Balochistan but it seems that the rest
of Pakistan remains oblivious to it. The apathy of the government and
the nation is something that has further alienated the Baloch from the
Pakistani state. Thus a new wave of separatism has found resonance in
Balochistan. The lessons from 1971 have not been learnt.
The PPP-led government in Islamabad seems helpless before the
Pakistan Army and its skewed policies. Even then there is no reason that
the government cannot put pressure on the army and make a logical case
against its brutalities. Promising development and aid will not serve
its purpose unless and until the military is called back from
Balochistan and the people of the province are empowered in letter and
spirit. The Baloch insurgency started only to ask for their just rights
but in order to quash their nationalism, the military under General
Pervez Musharraf started using force. Even after the ouster of General
Musharraf, the same policies are being carried out. When democracy
returned to the country in 2008 after nine years of military rule, it
was hoped that the civilian government would do away with a military
dictator’s wrong policies. Instead, we have been disappointed with the
way the ‘kill and dump’ policy is being carried out with impunity in
Balochistan. Thousands of Baloch are still missing while hundreds of
them have been slaughtered like animals by the army. Is this the way to
deal with a demand for just rights?
The need of the hour is to settle this conflict through a political
settlement. Military means cannot crush the honourable Baloch people.
The government must talk to the Baloch leadership, both in the mountains
and those who are in self-exile, and bring an end to the insurgency on a
just basis. All the missing persons should be brought back to their
homes safely. The military operation must be stopped at once. The
Balochistan government is toothless and cannot do much to stop what is
going on. The federal government must come to the rescue. If things keep
on going the way they are, the federation will be in trouble. The
government should not take this matter lightly. The Baloch deserve
better from a democratically elected government. Cruelty is not the
answer to anything. Peaceful means and political negotiations are key to
bringing peace and prosperity in Balochistan.
Posted by ADP.
The Pakistani planners apparently lauded the UN separation of the
Taliban and al Qaeda on the sanctions blacklist. This distinction does
not necessarily mean lifting the sanctions; it in fact sets the stage
for further sanctions against al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists,
especially the India-oriented Punjabi jihadist groups based in
Pakistan’s heartland
