Balochistan and the agencies
As long as this cycle of violence remains, there is little hope of a peaceful resolution to Balochistan’s woes.

There is slightly more hope that the judiciary may be more effective than the legislature at forcing the military to mend its ways in Balochistan. On January 27, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the heads of the ISI and MI to produce a report documenting the killings in the province. As in Gilani’s contempt case and in the case of the Adiala Jail prisoners, who were abducted by the intelligence agencies, the Supreme Court has shown that it is capable of holding the powerful accountable. The chief justice himself has ties to Balochistan so this might also spur him into further action.
The problem, however, is that it may already be too late. Separatist sentiment in the province is now already widespread and nationalist groups have no problem with responding to military violence with violence of their own. As long as this cycle remains unbroken there is little hope of a peaceful resolution to Balochistan’s woes. Meanwhile, the scores of people who have been spirited away to some military torture cell, or killed for no reason other than their provincial identity, will continue to be denied justice.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2012.
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