Balochistan unrest

Seven barber shop staffers were killed and one was injured on Thursday by unidentified gunmen in Balochistan’s port city of Gwadar. According to the police, all the victims were from Punjab. Expectedly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto and others have condemned this terrorist act. This incident comes at least three weeks after unidentified assailants gunned down 11 people in two separate terror incidents in the Nushki district of Balochistan. Nine of the deceased, who belonged to Punjab, were travelling in a bus on the National Highway from Quetta to Taftan when they were stopped by the militants, pulled out of the bus, abducted and later killed. Such acts of violence against Punjabi workers in Balochistan have increased over the years.

Needless to say, it is extremely important to deal with these attacks, and nothing can justify such senseless violence. If anything, all they lead to is more violence and ethnic tensions. Balochistan has already seen enough violence to last a lifetime. It is with this context that President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Quetta on Monday for a three-day visit to Balochistan. The president has rightly called for a dialogue among all political forces of Balochistan and said that the government will be holding talks with all the political forces in the province for the future of Balochistan. This was Zardari’s maiden visit to the restless province since taking charge as the president. There are complex issues surrounding the unrest in Balochistan, including an armed insurgency. During the PPP’s tenure in 2009, the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package was announced even though it did not lead to the desired results. But observers had said that at least it was a step in the right direction. When the PPP appointed Sarfraz Bugti as the CM after the February 8 polls this year, many were not happy with the decision given Bugti’s hardline approach but because the PPP and especially President Zardari have taken many steps in the past for Balochistan, it is hoped that despite Bugti being the CM, things will change for the better for the Baloch.

There is a lot of trust deficit between the residents of this province and the state, which has a history dating back decades. The idea of Pakistan as a federation is not to dismiss the grievances of smaller provinces but to give equal rights and autonomy to all provinces. Unfortunately, the people of Balochistan are still yearning for equal rights. A dialogue between all political stakeholders of Balochistan should be held as Zardari has announced because only an open and frank dialogue can lead to something substantial. The grievances of the Baloch need to be addressed. From clean drinking water to fishermen’s rights, from enforced disappearances to joblessness, the people of Balochistan are one of the most disenfranchised in the country. And it should put the democratic credentials of most political parties to shame that they have not addressed their grievances.