The Crisis in Balochistan

The region of Balochistan/ Balūchistān consists of an area of over half a million square kilometers situated in the southeastern part of the Iran plateau, lying south of the central deserts and the river Helmand. The Baluchis constitute the leading ethnic cluster in the province, followed by Pashtuns. The population of the region is predominantly Sunni Muslim. Besides, a lesser number of Shia’s and Hindus inhabit the region. The region is divided among three states, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The largest area of Baluchistan is in Pakistan, which has experienced a recent upsurge in violence by “extremists” and “ethnic Baluch rebels” striving for independence.
Balochistan is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, and it’s westernmost, sharing its borders with Iran in the west, Afghanistan in the northwest, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces in the northeast and east, Sindh in the southeast and the Arabian Sea in the south. Interestingly situated, it also happens to be a critical source of Pakistan’s natural gas supply as well as the site of the strategic Gwadar port, an integral component of the China-China Pakistan Economic Corridor and perceived as a crucial link between the colossal One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road projects.

Conversely, Balochistan, the largest Pakistani province in terms of area, continues to be impoverished and is the site of an active movement for autonomy/independence. The insurgent movement in Balochistan region can be traced back to the creation of Pakistan and has been an enduring one with periodic fluctuations since 1948. However, 2005 marks the initiation of a much more violent variant of sustained protests that has fetched international attention. The continuing wave of insurgency was born at the beginning of the past decade and intensified after the demise of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a prominent tribal politician-turned-insurgent who was slain by President Pervez Musharraf’s troops in 2006. The murder signified the beginning of a new variant of rebellion, a defining moment in the evolution of the Baloch insurgency. The earlier insurgent groups, controlled by tribal leaders, were joined by a new youth regiment, frequently from upbringings with no standing in the customary tribal system. A new generation of educated youth from well-known families emerged. Socially conscious and participant as well as aware of human rights, they were infuriated at the manipulation of local resources and the subjugation to which the province has been subjected to. The contemporary rebellion is primarily in the form of guerrilla warfare waged by the “nationalists” of Balochistan who are demanding increased control over the region’s rich natural resources as well as greater and a more meaningful political role/authority. The nationalist sentiments stem from years of marginalization and exploitation by the central Punjabi dominated government.

The Baluchis contend that they have not found adequate representation in politics, as well as in the military. The Pakistani government is habitually held responsible for the Baluchistan riddle. The continuing military operations in the Waziristan segment of Baluchistan, which is branded as an anti-terrorist enterprise has resulted in the creation of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people. Uneven sharing of resource revenues continues to be one of the foremost sources of the problem. Though the government of Pakistan has often proclaimed economic progress in the province and appropriated credit for the same, Baluchs, on the other hand, consider the measures undertaken by the Pakistan government, such as an Economic Package termed ‘Aghaz e hoqooq e Baluchistan,’ as being incompetent and unsuccessful in providing any major aid to the inhabitants of the region.

The current developmental issues are connected with the construction of the Gwadar Port as a major transportation hub and a key component of the Chinese showpiece connectivity project, the Belt and Road Initiative. This project is being executed by the Chinese and the Baluchis have been completely exempted from the construction of the project. In other words, while that Pakistan Economic Corridor is touted as a game changer that is poised to enhance development and benefit the people of the province by ensuring prosperity, nonetheless, Balochistan continues to be confronted by forbidding detriments emanating from the project. The Baluchistan region also serves as a pivot for the Iran- Pakistan- India gas pipeline and has been the target on numerous occasions of the Baluch militia to demonstrate their angst to the government owing to its misuse of the province and the provincial and federal governments have been accused of displaying insufficient interest in combating the drug menace.

The region is marked by a severe electricity crisis, rampant unemployment and underemployment which has had an ominous impact upon the progress of the region as they are unable to participate in the development process of the nation. Despite being the lowest populated province in the country, more than 52% of its population lives below the poverty line and even more alarming is the literacy rate which is around 29% of its population. The province of Balochistan, in addition is wanting in terms of an industrial base. Balochistan lacks a coordinated economic policy and a viable strategy for economic development. Economic growth in Balochistan as stagnated in the past decades due to restricted investment and capital formation.

Education or rather the lack of it is seen as one of the key factors in the Balochistan encounter. The Baluchis assert that their entitlement to education has been ignored. Even though the Pakistani government is understood to have undertaken measures by expanding scholarships from 2010 onwards, which can be viewed as a way forward towards progress, the Baluch nationals contend that the Pakistan government has been abandoning its responsibilities in terms of providing education, and that adequate measures have not been adopted towards the development of educational institutions.

There is a prevalent drug culture in Balochistan which has permeated among the youth. Drug lords and peddlers are cognizant of the geographic significance of the province owing to its shared borders with Afghanistan, the center of poppy cultivation. Drugs are not merely transmitted via Balochistan but a matter of considerable concern is that, it is also consumed in abundant quantities by the inhabitants. It has been contended that Balochistan, in recent times has witnessed serious “terror attacks and sectarian violence”, which may be have been financed by the drug traffickers to facilitate the efficient functioning of their operations in the unpopulated expanses of Balochistan.

Around 25000 people including women and children have been missing from the region apparently abducted by the Pakistani Army. Many reports have been compiled of disappearances of militants and activists, slayings and in some cases even the use of poison gas. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has reported arrests, torture, executions and use of unnecessary and indiscriminate violence by the police and intelligence forces. The Inter Service Intelligence has been indicted of adopting a “kill and dump” operation.

On the other hand, Human Right Organizations have deemed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) responsible for “ethnic cleansing” in the region. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been charged of methodically attacking Shia Muslims in Balochistan Similarly, Human Right Watch has accused Baloch militants groups such as Baloch liberation army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) to be responsible for attacks on schools, teachers and students, aggravating the problem related to lack of education. Separatist fighters have also assumed responsibility for attacking and killing journalists in the province and Baloch secessionists themselves have indicted each other of being complicit in Human Right abuses.

Numerous extremist groups like the Al Qaeda, Quetta Shura-e-Taliban and Tehreek –e-Taliban Pakistan, are active in Baluchistan. The actions of these clusters have convoluted the contested state of affairs. The strategic setting of Baluchistan and the want of an effective economy have profoundly aided and abetted these groups to perform their organized crimes in the name of religion. Hazara Shia’s, migrants from Afghanistan have been targets of sectarian violence. The Hazaras, comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, and a substantive section of Hazaras migrated to Pakistan for protection, as a result, constituting a significant minority group. The government of Pakistan has often blamed the Indian government and intermittently the United States for being supportive of the Baluch movement in order to undermine the state of Pakistan. The role of Iraq and Iran also assume significance in Baluchistan due to their support for the Shia Muslims.

On the occasion of the Independence Day speech on 15 August 2016, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of Baluchistan. From the Red Fort, he alluded to the struggle for Independence of Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and the human rights violations in these provinces of Pakistan. Implicitly, he accused Pakistan for the turmoil and massacres it had generated from the time of the partition via state policy against its own people in the province of Balochistan and in Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK). It was for the first time in the history of India, that a Prime Minster had exposed the internal predicaments of Pakistan and the enduring protest movements in the aforementioned mentioned provinces. Unsurprisingly the move engendered antagonism in Pakistan whereas it was perceived as encouraging signs by the Baloch resistance leaders/groups, who have since then openly supported various policies of the Indian government including the abrogation of article 35A and the muting of article 370, contending “that the move has ended Pakistan’s false narrative that Kashmir was a bilaterally disputed region,” claiming that  India has now acquired a stage, internationally, where it could assist the Baloch nationalists in attainment of independence from Pakistan, the first step in the direction being the establishment of a Baloch government in exile in New Delhi, legitimising their demand and paving the way for the creation of an independent state of Balochistan.

Consciously or unconsciously, advertently or inadvertently, India has become an intrinsic component of the Baloch conundrum qualifying accusations from Pakistan of inciting and harboring a secessionist movement within its boundaries. The fact of the matter remains that an unhappy and deprived population gave way to a sense of violation and persecution facilitating and engendering revolt from within its ranks, shaking the existent fragile foundations of an embittered state.

Soumi Dey
Intern
Asia in Global Affairs