Assurances on atrocities

Once more the prime minister, addressing a press conference in Quetta, has promised there will soon be change in Balochistan. He has pledged that the atrocities committed over the past six decades will end. These reassurances are comforting but we have heard similar words many times in the past. The reason the ‘trust deficit’ that the prime minister referred to in his speech exists between Islamabad and Quetta is because there has been a failure to implement what has been promised. While Yousaf Raza Gilani spoke at some length on the Balochistan package he did not explain why so little had happened since its passage through parliament last November to enforce the measures in it. Among these is the call for reconciliation in the province. While Gilani said that even nationalists were being taken on board to make this process a success, very little has happened in actual terms. The nationalists have been reluctant to come on board as lack of faith in the central government persists.

What are the reasons for this? History will attest to how Baloch have lived with sporadic conflict for decades. The repeated use of force against nationalist aspirations has done little to win friends. The challenge for the government is to create an environment that can lead to successful reconciliation. This is still not in place. For one, the missing people are yet to return home. The vague reference by the prime minister to ambiguous lists will satisfy few in a province where anger runs deep. There is a need for the commission set up for this purpose to expedite its efforts.

The situation in Balochistan continues to worsen. The ethnic murders in its cities are an example of the perils facing its people. There is no time to lose. Rapid action is needed or things may spin completely out of control.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2010.