August 25 and 26 this year marked a grim reminder for Pakistan as Balochistan, the nation’s largest province, was engulfed by a series of militant assaults. Carried out by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) these attacks culminated in the deaths of over 70 individuals, including 23 civilians, bringing to the fore persistent fragilities within Pakistani statehood.
These coordinated strikes, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the assassination of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti by state forces in 2006, highlighted the long-standing grievances of the Baloch populace towards a government that has continuously suppressed them. The recent surge in insurgent capabilities and their readiness to target significant installations were alarmingly evident. Furthermore, the attacks have starkly brought to the forefront the ethnic tensions that have simmered since Pakistan’s inception, which the state has attempted to brush under the carpet in the garb of a unified Islamic identity.
In a particularly brutal episode, militants halted a civilian bus, verified the identities of the passengers, and executed 23 Punjabis. This was the result of anger caused by the historical disparities in resource allocation and political power that have favoured Punjab at the cost of Balochistan. Despite Punjab’s economic dominance, the dire state of the national economy and profound inequalities have compelled its working class to seek opportunities in Balochistan, the least affluent province. This longstanding ethnic divide has often placed Punjabi migrant workers at the forefront of Baloch rebellion animosity, with the current scale of violence reaching unprecedented levels.
The quest for Baloch independence can be traced back to Pakistan’s formation. However, the Baloch insurgency we are witnessing today revitalised around two decades ago. This resurgence happened after the US invasion of Afghanistan, which displaced numerous Pakistani-backed militant factions into Balochistan, thereby destabilising the already marginalised province’s traditional power hierarchies. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), established in the year 2000, along with other militant groups, has persistently challenged the Pakistani state, advocating secession due to the blatant exploitation of the Baloch populace.
Despite Balochistan’s wealth in oil, gas, uranium, gold, copper, and other valuable minerals, the local people remain socio-economically suppressed, with 70 per cent categorised as ‘multidimensionally poor’. The province also lags significantly in socio-economic indicators including education, health, and employment. The gender disparity further complicates the socio-economic landscape, with only 24 per cet of women literate and a mere 19 per cent of girls completing primary education. The maternal mortality rate is alarmingly high at 700 per 100,000 births. Additionally, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — involving over $60 billion in infrastructure projects including the pivotal deep-sea port at Gwadar — has exacerbated local grievances about the state’s exploitation of Baloch resources. This exploitation has spurred numerous attacks on Chinese interests and personnel in the province, intensifying Beijing’s security apprehensions, especially concerning CPEC.
Rather than politically addressing the concerns of the Baloch population, the Pakistani state has opted for suppression of dissenting voices, establishing puppet provincial governments, and enforcing severe military measures. From the early 2000s, Pakistan has implemented a strategy of collective punishment against the Baloch people, characterised by the notorious ‘kill and dump’ policy. This approach has normalised extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and custodial torture. Any dissent against the central government’s policies, whether from human rights activists, journalists, teachers, or students, has been harshly silenced under the guise of counterterrorism efforts.
Additionally, significant discrepancies exist between the official statistics and those reported by human rights organisations. For instance, the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons claims that 7,000 Baloch individuals have disappeared since 2004, in stark contrast to the 2,750 cases acknowledged by government records. This deepens the distrust between the state and the Baloch community, further inflamed by official narratives that dismiss calls for accountability as manoeuvres orchestrated by Pakistan’s adversaries, notably implicating India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Recent actions of the Pakistani establishment illustrate its reluctance to address the grievances of the Baloch people, most notably through the harsh suppression and vilification of the non-violent Baloch resistance led by Dr. Mahrang Baloch and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. The ‘March against Baloch Genocide’ between December 2023 and January 2024, along with the Baloch Raaji Muchi in July-August 2024, presented critical opportunities for the state to initiate reconciliation and make progress in resolving the longstanding conflict.
Nonetheless, the state’s outright dismissal and forceful suppression of these peaceful initiatives have only served to embolden the armed factions of the Baloch struggle, escalating the conflict further. The repercussions of this oppression have been borne not only by security forces but also by Punjabi civilians who migrated to Balochistan seeking better economic prospects, only to become victims in this escalated conflict.
It remains doubtful that the Pakistani establishment will reconsider its approach and commit to the thoughtful, prolonged engagement necessary to address this protracted issue. The policy of treating the entire Baloch population as a security threat and responding with military force to what is fundamentally a political matter has led to countless deaths over the years. Regrettably, with the state’s interests now also intertwined with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the dominance of Punjabi ethnicity across all echelons of the establishment, the prospects for resolving this conflict appear to be exceedingly distant.
The writer is an author and columnist and has written several books. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment