Pakistan’s New Army Doctrine and
Balochistan’s Conflict
By Archen Baloch
The
people of Balochistan greeted 2013 with a bloodbath inflicted upon them by
Pakistan military operation on the eve of Christmas day 25th December. In this
gory operation more 51 person were reportedly killed with several losses of
livestock and properties.
Baloch with different organizations with
different identities, yet with the same ideology and purpose - mostly called pro
freedom forces – have engaged the occupying Pakistani state in a defensive
resistance with sheer determination of disrupting Pakistani writ in
Baluchistan.
The main expression of Baloch
resistance is reflected in daily incidents occurring at the length and breadth
of Balochistan whereby the state writ is totally challenged! The strength of the
Baloch resistance can be measured by objective’s popularity among general public
where the “Sarmachars” the freedom fighters, draw their sustenance in
obscurity.
The current Mashkay siege Balochistan
Operation by Pakistan army and its brutal use of heavy war machines, including
three Jets, seven gunship helicopters with seventy military vehicles is a case
in point to gauge the popularity of the movement where no one but Pakistan
itself has located the source of support for the freedom fighters.
What has gone into the heads of the
panic stricken Pakistani military establishment is the very nightmarish
realization that Balochistan has virtually gone out of their immoral control and
without Balochistan, Pakistan would touch the stone age, because, the immense
geopolitical importance and the vast reservoir of natural resources, that it has
been exploiting without any hindrance so far, has come to a virtual
halt
Fire power is no more an only option
now left for Pakistan to determine the fate of Balochistan. The major credible
factor that Pakistan wants to use to take in the international community is a
new found doctrine whereby it thinks it might find a solace by posing as a
genuine partner willing to work for peace with international community on
terrorism.
Each and every Pakistani writer and
intellectual has tried hard to excel other in performing the feat of offering a
best solution to Balochistan crisis how to grapple with the gruesome
situation.
But the general headquarters of Pak
army never listened to anybody for any solution to what they thought was best
for Pakistan future: “Kill and dump Policy” was so far the only best policy
that Pakistani generals pursued to deter Baloch insurgency until Najam Sethi
doctrine of Isolationism came in picture on Feb 21, 2012 that changed entire Pak
army security doctrine and took a paradigm shift from east to west regarding
Baloch insurgency.
Najam Sethi is one among most
prominent Journalists who know well what the nature of Baloch resistance is and
they’re only taken seriously by decision makers when Pakistan is in serious
trouble. In his famous TV program, Apas ki Baat, the solution he
suggested:
Isolate the Baloch insurgents living abroad by adopting a strategy of Push and full factors. Pull factor of giving them general amnesty and stake does not work unless Push factor of foreign support is in place. Put an end to National Security State and Stop the proxy war against India, America and Afghanistan, because they are the ones who are abetting Baloch insurgency when you establish good relations with them and stop supporting the Talban, then they too stop supporting Baloch insurgents. Unless security establishment struck peace agreement on East and West borders, there will be no peace in Pakistan and Balochistan crisis will not be resolved.
The same was also conveyed to India
by none other than Pakistan’s foot in mouth interior minister Rehman Malik
while talking on alleged Indian interference in Balochistan he said “We have
non-state actors, you have non-state actors, so that we find a way forward’’,
implying that Pakistan was ready to lend her efforts in peace process if only
Baloch are not abetted by neighboring India.
Then a follow up visit took place by
by Rtd Gen Talat Masood, an expert in defense study, where he was to convince
the Indian intellectual societies against growing support for Baloch freedom
movement. According to him “Pakistan expects that with improvement in relations,
India would cease supporting the insurgency in Baluchistan. In future, both
India and Pakistan could play a constructive role in Afghanistan. They could
cooperate in reconstruction activity and promote regional
integration”.
Exactly the same policy is being
pursued by Pakistani security establishment, particularly about the Taliban
issue with Afghanistan. Pakistan agreed to support a negotiated settlement of
Afghan crisis. As a sign of its genuine it has started releasing the Taliban
leaders from her detention.
Pakistan recently received a $688
million tranche from US as Coalition Support Fund on December 28 to support the
war against Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists; and expected to receive more as
reward for the support to a negotiated settlement of Afghan crisis. “Pakistan is
working with the United States to facilitate an Afghan-owned and -led
reconciliation process” Dawn News quoted Ambassador Sherry Rehman to United
States.
Now in the scheme of things it seems
that a concerted military and diplomatic milieu is in place to contain the
freedom movement with a new doctrine of peace with neighbors - to kill the
Baloch insurgency in isolation. I would rather call it Najam Sethi’s
Doctrine.
No wonder internally Pakistani writ
has melted away in Balochistan. The very fact that International media and
impartial observers are not being allowed to assess the situation in Balochistan
registers the case in favor of freedom forces claims.
The fifth phase of Baloch resistance
started almost eleven years ago, and it has achieved tremendous success both at
home and abroad. During the course of these eleven years struggle, Baloch have
successfully navigated their ship of freedom struggle in the unchartered waters
amidst compromises of interests’ of world powers in the region where Baloch
homeland is situated. But anyhow Baloch national Insurgency has gained a solid
ground in the form of popularity in general public and in international media
after offering tremendous sacrifices.
Peace is what that Pakistani state is
interested in Balochistan the most at any cost, its chief justice ordered state
officials to use every mean to bring peace in Balochistan during seventy one
hearings on missing persons cases. But, It is on record, so far no culprit has
been arrested in the cases of mutilated dead bodies of Baloch political workers
found dumped on roadsides and desolated areas. Even though chief justice has
gone on record that Pakistani state security apparatus are involved in human
rights abuses in Insurgent Balochistan.
Another filthy feature of containing
Baloch insurgency is the sectarian violence that Pakistan has introduced in the
concerted milieu of Baloch containment policy to smear the secular feature of
Baloch nationalism and trying hard to characterize it into a mixture of
insurgency and sectarian violence by killing innocent Shiite and kidnapping the
Hindu merchants communities in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan and
Pakistani media is also at best in supporting such policy that help Pakistan to
obscure Baloch secular feature.
So far Pakistani has successfully
prevented international media and human rights organizations from visiting
Balochistan to assess the on ground realities in Balochistan. However, on Sept
10th last year, a high powered seven member’s delegation of United Nations made
a country visit to Pakistan with a limited access to Balochistan to assess the
human rights situation there.
But as usual, to hoodwink UN
delegation, the state started to use its entire tools to create the impression
that Balochistan crisis was an internal matter and that it could be managed by
internal efforts. Given its so called judicial activism, the smokescreen of
Supreme Court’s concerts in Baloch missing person’s cases was used to prevent
United Nations from taking a pragmatic step against human rights violations. The
impression was created that Baloch are satisfied with Pakistani federation and
its judicial system for justice delivery.
It isn’t the case that Baloch did not
explore the democratic or peaceful mean of struggle. Yes they did, but the
opposite did not listen to them. But absence of war doesn’t mean peace. And
peace in term of security took a new meaning in the mind of Baloch leadership
when they felt that their national identity and resources are unsecured within
Pakistani compressed federation as they had already exhausted all their options
seeking democratic solution within Pakistani federation.
In
1991 when Nawaz sharif was about to resume his second term of office in
Islamabad, two full mandated leaders, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugi, Sardar Atuallah
Khan Mengal did their Yatra to Islamabad with a good will gesture, with an aim
of finding a permanent solution to Balochistan’s chronicle problem with
Islamabad. And the then political workers, now the leaders, were hoping that
Punjabi leadership would recognize that gesture and a new social contract would
be agreed upon within Pakistani federation. But Pakistani rulers disappointed
them and their leaders came home empty handed.
Later we learned that Punjabi military Junta
had no trust in Baloch leadership.
Now
the question is that why Baloch should waste their time, energy and political
resources in convincing and entreating the Punjabi generals and politicians -
Baba respect democracy and recognize our ownership of our
resources!
But
now gone are the days when the elder leadership dissipated their time, energy
and political resources in convincing the Punjabi establishment and generals in
vain.
The
new generation is not welling to abdicate their ancestral rights of being the
sole sovereign rulers of their own homeland Balochistan.
06/01/13
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