|
London: When Pakistan is nearing what think tanks
forecast as the inevitable denouement, its incorrigible
military establishment has closed its eyes to the writing on
the wall. And since it is condemned by history to repeat its
previous mistakes, it has this time chosen what it feels a
favorable terrain—Balochistan—(unlike East Pakistan ’s
swampy land that its men were not used to fight in)—to
establish the Praetorian writ of terror.
It is regrettable that in the typical military mindset, it
is the GHQ’s considered view that since there is no 1000
miles of hostile Indian territory in between, Balochistan is
contiguous with rest of the country and thus militarily
manageable to the extent of eliminating the dissenters
whatever their number. Obviously this sort of Nazi-like
attitude brings one to the conclusion that the battle to
save Pakistan shall have to be fought—sooner or later—in the
rugged terrain of Balochistan.
It is feared by experts that the Pakistan’s Praetorian
establishment has cast its die when its spokesman General
Musharraf had come on record that the Baloch dissenters
would not know what hit them followed by literal translation
into action of his threat in the cold-bloodied murder of
Nawab Akbar Bugti followed by invasion of the province by
Pakistan army. The GHQ also believes that since it is the
key ally in the war against terrorism, its domestic conflict
will be overlooked and ignored by Washington as was done by
the American State Department under Dr Henry Kissinger in
1971 when a reign of rape and genocide was let loose on the
Muslim Bengalis who had spearheaded the struggle for the
creation of Pakistan when Punjabi political elite were
playing toddy to the British Raj and were opposed to the
creation of Pakistan.
Notwithstanding GHQ’s role in war on terrorism, Islamabad
must remember that this is 2006 and not 1971 when
geo-political interests were different and Pakistan then was
a facilitator and a bridge between the Americans and the
Chinese and not part of the problem of terrorism that it is
today. Presently it is the epicenter of global terrorism.
Footsteps of every Jihadi terrorist lead to ISI or its
sponsored terrorist groups. More than five years of General
Musharraf’s running with the American hare and hunting with
the Mullah hounds, has made the West see through his game of
blackmail. Although they keep lip-servicing him and praise
his role as their Knight Templar, within the corridors of
their policy planners they are actively considering
alternate options to deal with an overly centralized
Islamabad .
Since West’s larger objective is to democratize and
secularize the Muslim Middle East, they are definitely
embarrassed to deal with tin pot military dictators and
unrepresentative Muslim rulers. In case of Pakistan , they
are actively considering two options: either to see Pakistan
become a true democracy re-erected on the firm foundations
of genuine federalism or to create four independent states
on lingual basis.
According to them these are only two options that could
eliminate Pakistan ’s role as epicenter of Jihadi terrorism.
In the first option, only a strong democratic government
implementing true federalism will be in a position to reduce
the military and dismantle ISI. However, if the first option
fails, then the second one would naturally bring to end the
present Pakistan army since the lingual independent states
would have their own ethnic armies and its present
monolithic existence would be buried for all times.
This brings me briefly to numerous studies by the American
and Western think tanks that have either supported
restoration of genuine democracy and true federalism or are
suggesting its balkanization as the only possible way of
eliminating Jihadi terrorism since, according to them,
Pakistan army (ISI included) and Jihadi terrorists are like
Siamese twins. Latest of such discussions held at the
British House of Commons in London (December 4)—has been the
second under the aegis of the British Foreign Policy Centre
in the recent past besides the series of other similar
discussions held at prestigious Chatham House or the IISS
over a short period of time.
Readers please note, the British Foreign Policy Forum is a
leading European think tank established under the direct
patronage of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair to
develop a vision of a fair and rule-based world order. Its
primary objective is to promote debate about some of the
world’s lesser known conflicts and the situation in
Balochistan is one such example.
How sensitive Pakistan ’s GHQ is to such deliberations can
be judged from the fact that Pakistan ’s London-based
electronic media was issued specific instructions to black
out its proceedings and not to mention a word about it in
their bulletins. All those Paki journalists who were keen to
interview the renowned authority on Pakistan and South Asia
—Selig Harrison—were commandeered not to go near him what to
talk of seeking an interview of him. The invitation
introducing Balochistan described it as the “Kurdistan of
Central Asia” and said Balochistan was a crucial element to
Britain ’s relations with Pakistan and the Pakistani
community in the UK . Does this have a message in it?
It was understandable. None of the speakers except Pakistan
’s Minister of State for Information had kind words for the
military rulers. For obvious reasons--the military is quite
a good pay master. Baloch leaders, academics and US regional
expert Selig Harrison recounted what they called the
‘atrocities’ committed by the military establishment against
the people of Balochistan—much on the pattern of its
genocide in erstwhile East Pakistan..
The subject of the seminar on “Why Balochistan Matters --
insurgency and the politics of military rule in Pakistan ”
was self-explanatory. Pakistani Minister tried to counter
the criticism of the army by presenting the institution’s
side of the story on Balochistan but ended up provoking the
audience. Since he was using the same language, arguments
and formulations as being used by General Pervez Musharraf
over the last couple of years while defending his
Balochistan policies, the majority of the audience was
justified in losing patience with the “minister’s harangue.”
His remark that Selig Harrison had become outdated was
dismissed with contempt since the Minister’s claim to
intelligence has never been a known virtue.
Selig Harrison liberally used the East Pakistan example and
predicted that Balochistan too would one day demand
independence, though at the moment, he said Balochis are
only fighting for their legitimate rights as enshrined in
the 1973 Constitution. In his opinion, the only way Pakistan
can save Balochistan from going the way East Pakistan went
was to ensure fair and free elections in 2007 with both
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif allowed to participate
followed by transfer of power from the army to the elected
parliament.
It is time—especially in Punjab —to lend ears to scholarly
authorities like Selig Harrison. He was absolutely right in
his observation that separation of Balochistan would have
serious implications for the existence of Pakistan . He said
that for any negotiated solution the first pre-condition is
that the ongoing genocide of Baloch people should stop
immediately. He said that the root cause of the conflict is
the Islamabad ’s control on all the affairs of Balochistan.
He said that for Baloch nationalists Pakistan is synonymous
to ‘ Punjab ’. He mentioned about the excessive use of cobra
gunship to bombard the civilian enclaves killing thousands,
including women and children. He said the tactics of
Pakistani army have resulted in deep-rooted hatred among
Balochis. He said Pakistan is not declaring how many of its
forces are involved in the current operation in Balochistan
however the USA intelligence services are suggesting that 6
army brigades are carrying out the operation. He said that
many credible sources including HRCP have clearly mentioned
the indiscriminate bombing of Baloch civilians. He said no
local or international journalist is allowed to go in the
areas under military operation; therefore, the situation is
not clear.
However, unlike 1971 Baloch fighters are better equipped. He
said that the Pakistan army has tried to divide Baloch
people and leadership but without much success. He said that
currently there are no signs of support of India , though
Pakistan has made repeated claims, however India might get
attracted if Baloch and Sindhi nationalist forces join
hands. He said the possibilities of a conflict resolution
would only arise if general Musharraf goes, military leaves
Balochistan, a democratic government is in place and the
talks are made with the genuine leadership of Baloch people.
|
Articles/Opinions
Cartoons
