Talks in Balochistan
The trust of the Baloch insurgents needs to be won if any progress is to be made.
Mir Sarfraz Bugti, also said he anticipated that the APC would call on all militant groups and tribal chiefs backing them to enter into the effort to build peace.
It seems to be the season for talks in our country. Taking the lead from the central government’s move to enter into dialogue with the Taliban, the Balochistan government has decided to set up its own panel to talk to the insurgents who have been responsible, over the years, for at least some of the violence that has plunged Balochistan into chaos. The provincial home minister has said that an All Parties Conference (APC) is to be called to chalk out a formal strategy and based on this, a dialogue process would begin. The minister, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, also said he anticipated that the APC would call on all militant groups and tribal chiefs backing them to enter into the effort to build peace.
The bid is obviously a welcome one. We need to do everything we possibly can to restore order in our most troubled province. Talking with the militants seems to be the only option, especially when we consider the fact that they have fairly deep roots amongst the people. A look back at history also reminds us that successive military operations in Balochistan, carried out since the 1950s, have only ended up making things much worse by contributing to the building up of anger and perceptions of injustice.
Given this backdrop, it is important to proceed cautiously and with wisdom. The trust of the Baloch insurgents needs to be won if any progress is to be made. They have been alienated for a very long time and the persons selected to negotiate with them will need to win them over a step at a time. Given this, the home minister’s suggestion that the insurgents are responsible for the mass grave at Khuzdar may not be the best way forward, given an inquiry is still on. What is most important is that mistakes be avoided and everything possible done to make the talks effort work, by first bringing the insurgents to the table and then persuading them to lay down their arms and accept that peace in Balochistan is essential to the welfare of its people.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2014.
The bid is obviously a welcome one. We need to do everything we possibly can to restore order in our most troubled province. Talking with the militants seems to be the only option, especially when we consider the fact that they have fairly deep roots amongst the people. A look back at history also reminds us that successive military operations in Balochistan, carried out since the 1950s, have only ended up making things much worse by contributing to the building up of anger and perceptions of injustice.
Given this backdrop, it is important to proceed cautiously and with wisdom. The trust of the Baloch insurgents needs to be won if any progress is to be made. They have been alienated for a very long time and the persons selected to negotiate with them will need to win them over a step at a time. Given this, the home minister’s suggestion that the insurgents are responsible for the mass grave at Khuzdar may not be the best way forward, given an inquiry is still on. What is most important is that mistakes be avoided and everything possible done to make the talks effort work, by first bringing the insurgents to the table and then persuading them to lay down their arms and accept that peace in Balochistan is essential to the welfare of its people.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2014.