Al Jazeera - Is Pakistan heading for disaster in Balochistan?
Akbar Ahmed
Pakistan must end its policy of killings and kidnappings of Baloch people and recognise the importance of the region.
Despite Balochistan's rich cultural history and plentiful natural resources, Pakistan's government continues daily harassment and killings that are causing the people to think about independence
Washington, DC - The behaviour of the powerful elite of Islamabad reminds me of the captain and crew of the RMS Titanic sailing into the night, heading straight towards an iceberg. The civilian, military and judicial authorities are locked up in a tussle coloured by political positions and personal egos. And there is a dangerous disconnect between Islamabad and the enormous problems that loom on the Pakistani horizon.
Guess what Mr Commissioner (image the Joker saying it in Dark Knight movie) , everything thing sure is fcuked up inside Pakistan as of now, but what it has to do with Balochstan, except that Al Jazeera suddenly, out of the blue pulled out the Balochistan Stunt at the very moment when this country has taken a stand over Nov 26 massacre and has almost choked the US from its balls?
You being an ex senior civil servant of Pakistan should feel shame when you complain of 'enormous problems' the country suffers as of today.
It's like Nawaz Sharif or BB complaining about electricity and gas shortages of Pakistan when both of them have had two terms in the Premier's office.
Law and order appears to have collapsed in many parts of the country. In the north-east, the former Frontier Province, there are daily killings as suicide bombers and the army continuously fight each other. Unemployment is widespread and inflation is sky-high. And there is still a desperate shortage of electricity and gas in much of the country.
Hail democracy!
Perhaps some more does of political freedom, eh?
But perhaps none of these problems is more pressing than the situation in Balochistan. If the simmering, but widespread movement for independence spins out of control, Pakistan will find it almost impossible to maintain nationhood. 
A problem, yes; 'more pressing', no.
When there is no military operation going on inside Balochistan.
When the military itself has started mega (social) development programs and reforms inside the Province (though a State responsibility), which has totally changed the outlook of numerous districts of Balochistan thus raising the liviable standards of the inhabitants.
When thousands of Balochs (much more than the ratio that Balochistanis represent in the National population) have either joined the military or have been adjusted into govt jobs and many thousands further waiting and willing to do this over and again.
When the govt, political parties and the military, all have accepted that Balochistan was indeed 'sidelined' in the past and that more has to be done to undo the damage caused by this lapse and most importantly these entities have also 'apologized' for mistreatment.
Balochistan is no more a 'more pressing' problem, nevertheless it is a problem meriting immediate resolve.
I met in Makran as Commissioner when I was posted there in the mid-1980s.
On arrival, what struck me was the resilience and faith of the Baloch, in spite of the widespread poverty and lack of economic development. Even after decades of the country's existence, Pakistan - it seemed - had done very little for the Baloch. There were only five miles of paved road in Makran - from the Commissioner's house, in Turbat, to the tiny airport. Flights were irregular and the telephone lines to the rest of the country were frequently out of order.
i'll love to ask Mr Commissioner about the final length of this 5-mile-long road when he was finally leaving Makran for a new posting? Was it still 5-mile-long or did it increase a few inches? What a hypocrite this guy is! It's always easy to point fingures at others, Mr Commissioner!
And wait, what? Mid 80s? How many telephones were even there in mainland Pakistan that this guy (who indeed was responsible for the social services like the telephonic communications) is complaining regarding the same?
Damn it, i live in Karachi and my 'porch' area received a PTCL telephone connection in the 90s!! And this guy complains for Makran being out of communication for most of the year?!
This not Amreeka dude (i am sure the writer was not educated in Pakistan, and thus the 'high' expectations), this is Pakistan that has been raped by politicians, military and most importantly by the very bureaucrats like yourself!
But I found it a fascinating experience: the people were welcoming and the area was redolent of history.
Sure it was and still is, well majority, rather almost all of Balochistan is welcoming to outsiders barring those few hundred wannabe Balochs who are trying to portray themselves as allergic to non-Balochs.
I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know legendary Baloch leaders such as Nawab Akbar Bugti, Mir Ghaus Bukh Bizenjo, Jam Ghulam Qadir and Mir Jafar Khan Jamali.
i have seen and dealt with the Pakistani bureaucracy, and have also seen how 'respectfully' they conduct themselves when it comes to meeting politicians, lords and those who hold bureaucracy's strings (through controlling their postings, promotions etc), so let's not go there. Mr Commissioner, i can smell the Yessir attitude already.
From them, I learned that there was a time when a woman wearing gold ornaments could travel from the north of Balochistan to the south and not be molested.
Guud.
That you learned in the mid 80s, and as of 2012 you are learning (from them) that no man can travel in Balochistan without twitching his sphincter.
(For the record: i have been and still travel around Balochistan on local transport at will, ofcourse it is guud to wear shalwar kameez, you dont want people ogling at you - ever tried wearing a pant shirt in a Pakistani village in Sindh or Punjab just a few years back, i mean before this media revolution thing?)
"There was honour," they said, "in the land."
Balochistan still oozes this honor, atleast 99.4% of them do.
I grew to appreciate and admire the Baloch. I knew it was most important to deal with them on the basis of honour. In turn, they reciprocated my sentiments and I was posted as Commissioner of three divisions consecutively. Even the imperial British acknowledged that the key to dealing with the Baloch was honour. Not surprisingly, the Baloch complain that Pakistani officials treat them worse than the imperial British.
Correct.
But it aint the case no more.
Expect the fact that anybody talking of separation, terrorism and challenging the writ of govt dont deserve this honor, at all.
Malik, who has been a professional journalist all his life, has recently been given political asylum in the United States. Various threats and messages convinced him his life was in danger. He talks passionately and movingly of the hundreds of Baloch who have been brutally killed by the security agencies.
This 'asylum' thing has become a fashion these days, no?
And the westerners are also quite forthcoming in these cases, no wonder they need 'sleepers' (to be activated at the right moment as it is now after we kicked some yankee ar$e) so that they can further their malicious agendas.
The policy of "kill and dump" is causing fear and terror among the Baloch.
None of the districts i have been too suffers from this 'fear and terror', if that had been the case, people wouldnt be demonstrating with placards just in the vicinity of cantts, women would not be pelting stones on bypassers and face-covered dudes with guns in their hands would not be guarding the processions in Quetta (re-Al Jazeera documentary posted on this thread by IB).
"One chilling message engraved with a knife on the chest of a corpse said, 'Eid gift for Baloch'."
He claims there is a systematic policy to eliminate the "cream of the Baloch professionals". He lists names and professions with depressing accuracy - professors of medicine, scholars of Baloch history and, of course, numerous journalists.
"At least eight of my Baloch journalist friends have been killed over the past year," he said. Some had disappeared - until their mutilated, bullet-riddled bodies were found.
Cultural onslaught
The Baloch are angry not only at the killing of their intellectual and professional elite, but at what appears to be a wider, deliberate cultural onslaught. Security personnel, invariably non-Baloch, insult the Baloch at checkpoints by cutting off the shalwar, or baggy pants. More worryingly, Baloch corpses of those who have mysteriously disappeared are routinely found mutilated and desecrated. One chilling message engraved with a knife on the chest of a corpse said, "Eid gift for Baloch."
The funny thing is that on one hand these people credit our intelligence agencies and the military for pulling stunts like mumbai attacks, fooling the americans in Afg for 10 years and having total control over this country's foreign and domestic policies, but then they also portray the same agencies for being so stupid that they would first kidnap Balochis in broad day light, especially those who have been vocal for the Balochistan 'cause', kill them, fiddle with their bodies and then dump them for the people to see how stupid we are! While at the same time the govt and specifically the military is doing everything at can to alleviate Balochistan's poverty and assist the people there of.
Anybody with an IQ that of a frog understands that covertness is the most important thing in such actions, being so stupid only adds to the hatred that some Balochs have for Pakistan. Why would the State of Pakistan want that the resentment should rise to an extent that it goes beyond control?
Nawab Bugti's brutal and senseless murder gave the Baloch independence movement a second wind [EPA]
Brutal, not exactly, he was caved in with 24 soldiers because of his own stubbornness. Senseless, not even close, he was an enemy of the state. Yes, he should have been caught alive and tried, didnt happen because things get screwed up during operations, he shouldnt fired back when he knew he had been surrounded and there's nowhere to escape. Militaries, around the world dont allow themselves to be fired upon, and once they are, they dont send back bouquets.
Nevertheless, the aim was not to kill him, but the damn cave gave in, we lost 24 of ours (including a Lt Col) with the cave.
Islamabad has always underestimated, and therefore mismanaged, those living on the periphery. Islamabad tends to dismiss Balochistan because of its tiny population - about eight million of Pakistan's total 180 million people. There is also the prism of racial and cultural arrogance through which the Baloch are seen. Then there is sheer ignorance: the rich culture and traditions of the Baloch are generally not known in Pakistan.
Thanks for the figure work, but no Pakistani looks at Balochis with prejudice or arrogance, rather it is otherwise - they killing non-Balochis in Balochistan. Though a common Pakistani has no issues with Balochs, our official attitude towards them has also suffered a radical change and Pakistan as a whole is ready to take care of Balochistan.
In a different context, but one which illuminates the Balochistan situation, Islamabad's treatment of East Pakistan cost it half the country in terms of population. The colossal blunders and arrogance of the power elite of Islamabad and the tragic killings of 1971 led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Balochistan issue is as different from Bnagladesh as it can be. For the starters; Balochistan is not separated with hundred of miles of enemy territory, a Provincial boundary separates Balochistan from Pakistan and not something like the LoC (asin the case of Kashmir), almost half of the Balochistanis are Phuktoons who have NO PROBLEM whatsoever with Pakistan, the remainder half of pure Balochis are Pakistan friendly, of these remaining non friendly Balochis 80% of them dont ask for separation.
Go figure!
There are more, but that's not the topic at hand.
"The Baloch must be made to feel an integral part of the federation; they need to be treated with honour and dignity"
Pakistanis seem to forget that Balochistan may only have a tiny population - but comprises 44 per cent of Pakistan's land territory. They forget it has vast natural resources and hundreds of miles of sea coast which make it a key geopolitical area. While Balochistan can survive without Pakistan, it is Pakistan that simply cannot survive without Balochistan.
Mr Commissioner should also spend some time reading news stories that speak of the actions by the govt and mainly the Army that have won the hearts of Balochis, feeding on BS alone would never allow him to think critically.
Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, head of the army, need to fly to Balochistan together and, setting aside personal egos for the sake of the country, apologise to the people of Balochistan for the grievances they have suffered. They must promise a new beginning and radical shift in Pakistan's strategy for the Baloch. The Baloch must be made to feel an integral part of the federation; they need to be treated with honour and dignity.
Gen Kiyani has been to Balochistan for an umpteenth time, 'apologized' while he was there, provided people with jobs, restored their honor and dignity, brought prosperity to them and gave them a better future.
So the people of Pakistan can also ask Gillani to do the same, not to mention that the PM can take the COAS on a ride whenever he wants.
So it is the dissidents who have the ball in their court now. It's their move. We have done, are doing and would keep on doing whatever it takes to bring stability into Balochistan. But as they say, it takes two to clap, with wannabe Balochs picking up arms against the state with the help of external assistance, these (insurgents only) would only get their arses kicked by the Pakistani Nation.
P.S. WTF's with the smilees, dude?
path as what progress could be achieved during their lives would not be possible after.
