A number of ex-military men, former ambassadors, academics and journalists were part of the forum, chaired by analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood. Participants called for free and fair elections in the volatile province as the only hope, according to a press release.
Masood, in his opening remarks, outlined how from the enforced accession of Kalat state to Pakistan to the current insurgency in Balochistan, the government never took serious step to tackle the Baloch problem. He added that the government blamed foreign actors for fuelling the insurgency, but it was obvious that foreign powers would play a hand only if provided with the opportunity.
Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo of Balochistan’s National Party said that everyone was aware of the gravity of the situation in Balochistan but a lack of will and sincerity – both in civilian and military leadership – remains the biggest obstruction. Taking a swipe at Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s recent claims in Senate about the root-causes of the Baloch insurgency, Bizenjo said official thinking was frozen in the 1970s, when Moscow-inspired socialists were leading a nationalist movement in Balochistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2012.
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The fruits of Rs. 170 billion earmarked for Balochistan did not reach the common man.
only about 2.5 million baloch live in balochistan. far more baloch live in karachi and punjab. a huge number of baloch living in balochistan also support pakistan. and most of the pashtun who lives in balochistan also loyal to pakistan. so is the hazara community at a large scale. its a need of the hour to tackle the militancy with an iron feast. if turkey can diminish kurds (who are a large force), then pakistan can diminish these traitors too.
Balochistan insurgencies have often degenerated into criminal activities that become committed to making money rather than fighting a revolution, or they evolve into terrorist groups capable of nothing more than sporadic violence and killing of innocent people. Insurgencies develop in an environment of weak governance. In such environments much of the economy is black and organised crimes thrives. Today we the people of Balochistan not only face insurgency but criminility is also thriving. While the provincial government is conspicious by its inability to control any thing, they are adding to the fuel by absence of any relief and development in the province. So the Federal Government should intervene sooner than later, They must launch political and military effort and be proactive in seizing the initiative from insurgents.