What is happening in Balochistan? An official version states that property prices are soaring and settlers are coming back to Quetta and other cities in the restive province and so many other rosy things. The reality is not as rosy as official version or patriotic version paints it. It is a matter of fact that Baloch intellectuals and political activists are murdered everyday. Their mutilated bodies in rug sacks are discovered everyday from streams and nullahs. But the real important thing is the presence of Taliban Shura in Quetta is not a secret to those who know that certain elements within our security apparatus are still harboring and protecting Taliban. Let’s see on what cost our patriotic agencies are doing this dirty business… As a matter of fact, situation in Balochistan has deteriorated sharply during past decade. The reason is that Balochistan feels deprived and striped off of his natural wealth. There are great differences between Federation and Province on the issue of the sharing of provincial natural resources. Baloch people give example that the gas was supplied to Lahore and there was no natural gas in Quetta for long. Balochistan is sprawling with natural wealth and precious metals such as Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead and Uranium. There are huge reserves of Platinum and Chromium in the province that remains untouched. There are huge reserves of Petroleum and Crude Oil in the province. We should not miss the coastline of the province and the promising potential of Gawadar Seaport.
However, Baloch nationalists are weary of the so-called steeling of natural resources by Islamabad and accuse Punjab of plundering the province and keeping the Baloch population deprived. This is partly true as no government seriously tried to address the genuine issues of the Baloch people. in lieu of addressing their problems, successive government launched punitive military operations to thwart the resistance of the Baloch population. This is true that in the beginning, separate Balochistan was just an empty rhetoric and had no ground support. However, with growing lack of interest of Federal government in the resolution of the issues of Baloch people, the empty rhetoric turned into a real resistance movement.
Now Core Commander Quetta states that the murders of Baloch political activists are not carried out by any agency but some patriotic elements are doing it in their rage. Well, we know very well that how these patriotic elements are bred by agencies. Another patriotic child whose name is Taliban has gone bad in the areas where agencies bred them with love and American money. The point to write this post is to show how agencies are planning to suppress Balochistan uprising.Instead of dealing with the issues of people and giving them what they wanted, agencies came with a really good shortcut to cull the growing Balochistan resistance. “It is not East Pakistan”, a general said and elaborated that no one should think about separation of Balochistan from Pakistan. Army is facing so many threats from so many fronts. Balochistan threat is not fatal but it is vital. Our cunning agencies came up with an awesome plan. Well, Taliban Shura was already present in Balochistan and resistance was coming from the educated Baloch people. This should be emphasized that educated Baloch people are not only very liberal but also tolerant of other communities. May communities have coexisted and that too peacefully in Balochistan for centuries.
Unlike educated East Pakistan, predominantly Sunni Balochistan with less than 10% literacy looked like a piece of cake to Agencies. They thought that it is best to sow the seeds of extremism in Baloch people. Liberals are always enemies of extremists. Taliban take pride in beheading of liberals. Well, it was a mundane to address the issues of people so agencies thought that it is best to kill the intellectuals of Baloch people and let Taliban spread extremism in the uneducated class. The recent killings of Shia community in Quetta shows that Taliban have started working on the agenda of agencies. Agencies sought dismantling of the resistance of Baloch people in the return of the protection to Taliban Shura.
With moderate Baloch extinct and the environment of communal harmony disrupted in the province, no one will think about the separate Balochistan. Instead, one Baloch community will hate other Baloch community and the real goal of resistance will be lost. Hazaras are though not ethnically Baloch but they have always sided with the Baloch people. The instigation of communal violence is coming from the Taliban infested Sunni extremists who have been working under the patronage of agencies to abolish the Rights Movement.An overview can be given in following points:
1. Federation and Establishment are not serious in solving the issues of Baloch people. The new stooge of Agencies and Establishment, Imran Khan, never mentions about the real issues of Baloch people that is sharing of natural resources.2. Because Establishment fears greater backlash from the educated Baloch people so it is doing all it can to exterminate educated Baloch separatists.
3. Agencies have given freehand to Taliban in provincial capital and they have been working to disrupt the communal harmony in the province. Once Baloch people get divided on communal lines, the resistance will go to trashcan and no one will really think about it.
4. Taliban are enjoying protection of certain elements of agencies and presence of a high-profile Taliban Shura in Quetta is no secret.This should be clear that agencies are playing with the future of Pakistan. It looks like that we don’t really want to keep all Pakistanis integrated. Aaghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan package is a good effort but in the current circumstances, it is not less than a lolly-pop. Agencies need to realize that once you let these Taliban on loose, they will make an example of another Afghanistan and Swat. Alas, they are not understanding. In the current circumstances and Post-American Afghanistan, it is looking very difficult for Pakistan to cope up with the many problems that she created herself.
We need a Pakistan centered policy and there is need of greater provincial autonomy and greater rights of provinces on natural resources. Balochistan is integral part of Pakistan and no patriotic and true Pakistani can ever think of separation of Balochistan from our motherland but same is true for East Pakistan. Whole Pakistan Movement and even birth of All Indian Muslim League was East Pakistan-centric but then due to wrong policies of our Establishment and insane doctrine called “defense of East lies in West”, East Pakistan became Bangladesh and on the night of 16th December, 1971 the name of Pakistan was wiped off from Decca, Chittagong and other cities of former East Pakistan.It looks like we are sleeping… Wake up Pakistan!!! Let Taliban and extremists doesn’t disrupt the communal harmony. We need to stand up and now!
