THE Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for yet another attack in Quetta, the third in three days. The first two attacks were carried out on Wednesday in which four people, including a security man, succumbed to targeted firing. In the latest incident on Friday, six cricket-playing youngsters from the Hazara community were gunned down by assailants on motorbikes. While the BLA has kept up armed attacks in Balochistan, despite the new government’s promises of ‘reconciliation’ and socio-economic development for the province, what has complicated matters is the hard stance of nationalist parties. On Friday, Bramdagh Bugti of the newly formed Baloch Republican Party voiced his support for the militants, saying that the Baloch were masters of their own resources and there was ‘no need’ to talk to others on the subject. This attitude is dangerous, especially in a situation where the government, conscious of Balochistan’s past ill-treatment, appears eager to make amends. Perhaps the most visible manifestation of this is its call for an all-parties conference, the release of Akhtar Mengal and Shahzain Bugti and the promise to abolish the Concurrent List, a move that would lead to greater provincial autonomy. Unfortunately, the delay in taking more concrete action is giving rise to scepticism about the government’s good intentions. For the Baloch, the military still dominates the provincial landscape and the government has yet to prove that it is in charge, and not the army.
All this foot-dragging has to stop if headway is to be made in allaying Baloch suspicions. For starters, the government should immediately take up the offer of Akhtar Mengal — whose credentials as a Baloch leader have been enhanced by several months of detention under inhumane conditions — for peace talks. Clearly, there is a need for moderate Baloch leaders to convince hardened nationalist groups to soften their tone so that a genuine breakthrough can be made.
However, again, the intervention of such leaders can only prove meaningful if the government shows more resolve in making good on its promise of addressing Balochistan’s woes and getting rid of the army’s malevolent presence. At this point feelings of alienation run high among the general population that has waited for decades for a solution to its poverty, underdevelopment and lack of control over its resources. In addition, the people have suffered grave human rights abuses, and hundreds of Baloch are said to be in the custody of intelligence agencies. Under these circumstances, and unless it acts soon to reverse the situation, the government would find it a challenge to hold the federation together.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/06/01/ed.htm |
