Prof. Khurram Shahzad
It is a habitual convention we have corroboratively been testifying to since our independence that individual interests are given preference over national ones, which may be cognized as one of the eventual causes pushing us backwards in almost every field of life. Balochistan, for instance, is reminiscent of the horrific incidents over the last many months that delineate what we may call an ailment causing failure of forbearance and restraint.
When would we turn out to be capable of rising above our individual handicaps of desire and antagonism? Is wrecking the national installations through a campaign of terror the only mode of highlighting our grievances? Obviously, the forces wreaking havoc there have an axe to grind in the name of autonomy or emancipation. The people or parties there bashing the Central setup have pursued the same stance since the 1970s. They have unremittingly been painting the mega projects being carried out there as anti-people.
In point of fact, they do not commend the hectic efforts being exercised by the present establishment to mitigate the ailments of the province. Instead they are exacerbating nationalist sentiments by exploiting the law and order situation. Conducting an assassination attempt on the President’s life, hitting a helicopter carrying top military commanders, targeting the gas plants in Sui and Wapda installations, killing not only security personnel but also the Chinese engineers working in Gwadar, bomb explosions and abduction of surveyors all represent the topography of confrontation. There have been about 30 explosions in Quetta alone and 450 in the rest of the province during the year 2004, whereas 626 rockets were fired at gas pipelines in the entire province. In Sui, as many as 378 rockets were fired, with 122 attacks on gas pipelines, totalling 1126 assaults, while in the first 20 days of the year 2005, the incidents of rocket strikes touched 663, and the explosions in Sui reached 657.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed to be behind this state of turmoil, which forced the provincial government to seek the Centre’s help for defusing the situation. The halt in gas supply as a result has made the life of the affected people miserable, that too in severe weather conditions. In these critical moments, it is also a matter of concern for the entire nation, particularly for the Baloch who have been made hostage to the twisting of circumstances into anarchy meant to impair the national economy.
Besides, the mien of these occurrences, while the country is facing both foreign and native security threats, intimate us about the state of affairs in order to assess the activities of the insurgents. One can without doubt conclude that there may be diverse elements caught up in catalyzing the existing scenario to achieve their ambitions. The statements issued by some of the Baloch Sardars speak volumes while they portend shoddier circumstances.
The intricate social setup in Balochistan made it hard for every federal setup to govern the province in the past. These conditions still persist to add to our perplexity and bewilderment.
Furthermore, the sequence between the acts of sabotage does not point unswervingly to the multiple problems of the Balochi populace. Instead, they build up the suspicion of involvement of a foreign hand. Balochi youths have reportedly been coaxed under the garb of ’liberation’. The Balochistan Liberation Army’s claims to take responsibility for the goings-on in the province cannot be given cogent credence because it is inevitable that such a hefty organization may not resuscitate without the comprehension of local lords. BLA, with an abundant supply of sophisticated arms and ammunition, including a large number of rockets and rocket launchers, is playing havoc in the area. A single rocket launcher costs Rs 1.5 million whereas one round of rocket costs Rs. 70,000. Who is supplying the expensive ammunition? These items may be coming from the bordering state of Afghanistan through warlords who, for the sake of money, can do anything.
The BLA and the tribal chiefs jointly try to overawe the government by pointing to the identical circumstances of 1971, but they do not match the ground realities. The refusal to hold dialogue with the authorities even with all possible assurances is aimed at driving the government into a corner, and may cause a collateral smash-up of any kind. It would be advisable for us to mend our ways before it is too late.
http://www.thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=19224&catid=11
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