More violence

The bomb attack which took place onTuesday morning in the main bazaar in the town of Turbat close to the border with Iran could easily have claimed more lives. It is fortunate that the death toll remained restricted to one person, with at least 7 others injured. The IED device had been attached to a bicycle and left in the market. The incident comes as a part of the repeated violence which is creating greater uncertainty and unrest in Balochistan. It has also in some cases spilled out of the province as happened a few weeks ago with the attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi. This year alone at least nine members of the Pakistan armed forces, including one junior commissioned officer have been killed in various attacks in Balochistan. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal after the most recent blast has said that elements with vested interests are attempting to damage Balochistan and Pakistan. This indeed is without doubt true.

What is important however is that our leaderships attempt to understand precisely what is happening in Balochistan, a territory from which the media is hardly able to report, so that we can move towards solving its issues. External elements may indeed be involved in the violence and in supporting the terrorists. However, as is almost always the case these militants gain their strength from happenings within Balochistan, and chiefly the perception within local people that they have been subjected to injustice through the theft of resources and a failure to develop Pakistan’s largest province when measured by territory. Balcochistan’s location on the border of Iran and Afghanistan also makes it strategically important to many geopolitical interests active in the region.

For the sake of our country and the unity of the federation, it is important to calm the damage being done in Balochistan. And for this it is necessary that a political solution be evolved. This must engage all the stakeholders in the province including its multiple political parties which could have some influence in calming the violence and also reaching out to the Baloch people, who need assurance that they are considered an important part of Pakistan. It is especially vital that we are able to establish a good security environment in Balochistan given that the CPEC project runs through many parts of the province before reaching the Gwadar Port. We can complete this project only if we can build peace in Balochistan and end the violence that exists within it.