The Peace-War Nexus

Barkat Shah Kakar

(Social Researcher and Academician)

University of Balochsitan Quetta

bshahkakar@yahoo.com

Pakistan’s subscription to the war on terror as a front line client state has rendered several miseries till this moment. Though Gen Musharaf equated this conduct with the treaty of Hudebia, a strategic retreat for the domination of Islam, but the prevailing situation in Pakistan indicates that, perhaps it was the most tragic decision after the separation of East Pakistan in 1971.

Musharaf reacted as a pseudo modern reformist while wiping out all the symbols, he thought was against his ideals. He used violence and terror to impose his contaminated ideals of liberalism and moderation in Pakistan which were mainly aimed at generating good feelings about his image and funds for more wars for peace.

He initiated series of internal wars against Baloch separatist and progressive movements and also stirred the fire against the trained and dedicated religious warriors who were granted refuge in the NWFP and FATA region, mainly in Pashtun areas after the fall of Taliban as result of the incident of 9/11.

Though the Baloch separatist movement is not very new, it was even initiated in the very beginning of the indo-Pak partition when Kalat state was forcibly annexed with Pakistan.

In 2006 Musharaf led the third military operation against Baloch tribes comparatively with effective automated and sophisticated weapons. In this scene, it was interesting phenomenon to see that there was no sentiment in the military and establishment for ruthless operations until an attempt was made to target Musharaf with several rockets during his visit to Kohlo district. Perhaps most of the people in Pakistan did not know the names of this second most deprived district of Pakististan. Musharaf’s reaction stemmed in his egoism opened cold-blooded and coercive operation in Balochsitan.

Series of state inflicted wars in Balochsitan has destroyed the fabrics of the traditional society and has decayed the ecology of peace and harmony being practiced amongst diverse ethnic, sectarian and social groups. The recent target killings in Quetta and in other Baloch areas of Balochsitan are a particular outcome of the terrifying military operations,

On the other hand operation in NWFP and FATA has caused fatal consequences. More than 2.5 million people have been replaced from Malakand, Sawat,Waziristan, Tank, and Bajuar.

Hundred of thousands innocent people are killed in the shelling and bombardment of Pakistani forces. Thousands of civil and military persons are also killed in the suicide attacks, target killings and general explosions mainly as reaction of the Musharaf waged operations.

Taliban have emerged as symbol of benevolence in the areas where state’s operations have been carried as part of the proxy war against terrorism. The comparative advantage of Taliban has been highly rated by the local people as compare to the state’s actors.

Strategies of the recent democratic regime pour no substantial contribution to resolve the conflicts of the very difference natures in Balochsitan and Pashtunkhwa(NWFP). As the nexus of war peace is not holistically contextualized in the particular situation, therefore responses carried out more superficial and somehow looking part of the problem. Interior ministry blame external interferences as the soul cause of the atrocities and violence in these areas, while the after affects of the Musharaf led operations are not taken into consideration.

Both Balochsitan and the particular parts of the NWFP and FATA have been kept deprived and underdeveloped before and after the partition of subcontinent. FATA has been administered directly through colonial administrative systems and patterns, even the right to exercise democracy was not provided for more than a half century.

The patterns of both of the movements indicate that state’s approach of the oppression and violence neither controls nor reduces the separatist sentiments. Some particular factions with their romantic separatist ideals or heaven promised conservative religious agendas can easily motivate the young blood while pretexting he injustices and oppression of the insurgencies led by state forces. There will be no two opinions that violence breeds violence. There is still a room to understand the dialectics of war and peace.

(THE END)