ARMY's EXIT FROM BALOCHISTAN -EDITORIALS
The Express Tribune
The announcement by the army chief that the last of the military battalions posted in the troubled Balochistan district of Sui will be withdrawn within two months is news that will be welcomed by the people of the province. So will General Kayani’s assertion that there will be no further intervention in the province by troops, except with the permission of the provincial government. The deployment of troops in Balochistan has, over many decades, added to the anger and angst which runs through the territory and is added to each time a civilian is stopped at a barricade manned by uniformed personnel. The realisation of the problem had come some months ago, when the central government had ordered the cancellation of new barracks planned for Balochistan. The army chief’s decision takes this further — though he still seems to be somewhat out of step with reality when he speaks of the part played by the army in the development of Balochistan, and especially the educational institutions set up there. This is not a role everyone in the province welcomes.
The issue of Balochistan is not only that of development, but also of the manner in which resources to it are allocated and utilised. It is important for the people of the province to be treated as decision-makers in the process. Had this role been granted to them earlier and greater wisdom exercised by both the military and political leadership in the handling of affairs in the province, we may have averted the crisis we see there now. Of course, much more still needs to be done to redress the grievances of the poeple of the province. That said, the gesture of the troop pullout is a significant one. The expanded recruitment of Baloch youth in the army may also help address the unemployment crisis in the region. But these actions are not enough on their own. There are many complications in the Balochistan situation; positions have become more and more entrenched over the years. Some nationalists are unwilling to consider anything less than complete autonomy. Political dialogue is essential to resolve these issues, and, alongside the military withdrawal, move towards finding lasting peace in a province where chaos prevails for now.
DAWN
THE planned withdrawal of the army from the Sui area has finally been announced, with security responsibilities to be transferred to the Frontier Corps over the next couple of months. Does the move offer an opportunity to begin to turn around the disastrous security situation in the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan? It remains to be seen. While the army’s move has been publicly positioned as a nod to the wishes of the Baloch people, there is a sense that perhaps the catalyst may be a section of opinion within the army that has been opposed to using the military as a lethal instrument inside Balochistan. Moreover, the Baloch insurgents, and a considerable section of the public, believe that the main instruments of terror are the paramilitary forces, such as the Frontier Corps, and the ubiquitous intelligence agencies, meaning that the army withdrawal may not have much impact on Baloch perceptions.
Nevertheless, anything which sends conciliatory signals in the restive province ought to be welcomed. Balochistan is still not a lost province, in political terms, but the warning lights have furiously been blinking for some time now. As Baloch grievances spread further and deeper among the province’s population, there is a grave risk of an entire generation of Baloch youth growing up with little to no faith in the idea of Pakistan. Even the old tribal system is increasingly frayed, with a generation of angry youth inching towards hard-line stances and away from the guidance of the tribal sardars and nawabs. Complacency or indifference at the centre could yet push the Baloch beyond the tipping point.
Central as the role of the security establishment and the political government in Islamabad may be in recovering the situation in Balochistan, the abysmal role played by the provincial government cannot be overlooked. Gen Kayani was right in exhorting the provincial law-enforcement agencies and administration to improve their performance. In a sea of under-performing administrations, perhaps the performance of the Balochistan government has been the worst. Routinely accusations of monumental incompetence and corruption are laid against the provincial authorities. In that environment, the hard work of recovering a grim security situation becomes doubly difficult. Missing persons may be a critical issue and the provincial authorities do face serious security threats, but there is a sense that were the presence of the provincial government more visible and purposeful, at least the everyday terror that has invaded the lives of ordinary citizens could be pushed back. What’s really needed is a concerted plan of action bringing together all the instruments of the state, central and provincial. But is there the will?
The News
The announcement by COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to pull the last battalion based in Balochistan out of Sui within the next two months will go down well in a province that, from the perspective of its people, has seen far too much action from the men in khaki since the 1950s. The step, if it is taken, will be especially significant as it will mean an end to the military presence in the Dera Bugti district, an area that has become a hotbed of nationalism over the past five years or so. General Kayani has made it clear that in the future there will be no military intervention without the consent of the government in the province. The decision to step up recruitment to the army from Balochistan may also help young men in the province move into careers. Unemployment is one of the evils stalking the sands of our largest province.General Kayani’s decisions could help reduce the resentments that simmer in Balochistan. But on their own, they cannot be enough to solve the problems of the province which have grown rapidly over the years. It urgently needs to see development. The educational institutions run there by the army, whose role has been highlighted by General Kayani, cannot achieve this on their own. A great deal of input is required from the central government, in cooperation with the provincial leadership, to place development on a fast-track in the province and, by doing so, persuade people of a genuine desire to change things. This could set in place the solid foundation needed to initiate a process of dialogue, discussion and debate in Balochistan, for a move to be made towards finding solutions. The government needs to adopt measures that can prevent further deterioration in a province that has seen accelerating violence over the past few years with no end in sight.------
HE planned withdrawal of the army from the Sui area has finally been announced, with security responsibilities to be transferred to the Frontier Corps over the next couple of months. Does the move offer an opportunity to begin to turn around the disastrous security situation in the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan? It remains to be seen. While the army’s move has been publicly positioned as a nod to the wishes of the Baloch people, there is a sense that perhaps the catalyst may be a section of opinion within the army that has been opposed to using the military as a lethal instrument inside Balochistan. Moreover, the Baloch insurgents, and a considerable section of the public, believe that the main instruments of terror are the paramilitary forces, such as the Frontier Corps, and the ubiquitous intelligence agencies, meaning that the army withdrawal may not have much impact on Baloch perceptions.
The NATION
COAS General Kayani has announced that the army will withdraw from Sui and Gwadar, where units have been engaged in internal security duties, and their function will be taken over by the Frontier Corps, and has given a timeframe of two months for this. He made the announcement while addressing the inauguration of the Government Institute of Technology, Gwadar, which had been set up for the vocational training of local youth. He said that the army had been trying to bring the population into the national mainstream, and mentioned that 5000 Baloch youth would join the army in May. The withdrawal of forces should go some way towards meeting the demands of the Baloch separatists, but it would be also more helpful if there was more cooperation in the case before the Supreme Court of the missing persons, so that at least those lucky people who had relatives alive could get in touch with them. However, General Kayani did not mention the teachings and thought of the Quaid-i-Azam and of Allama Iqbal. Their concept of an Islamic democratic welfare state was the purpose of creating Pakistan, and whose teachings should be propagated widely to make it understood that Pakistan was not created for the hegemony of any one group, but so that the people could live their lives in accordance with their aspirations and in accordance with the thought of the Founding Fathers. Though speaking in Balochistan with reference to events there, General Kayani also referred to the collapse of the USSR, which he rightly said showed how internal rifts broke up a country. Therefore, the efforts, both individual and institutional, at bringing Balochistan into the national mainstream, would only bear fruit if made with the sincerity of purpose. Apart from the missing persons, Balochistan is also being subjected to separatist pressures by the unjustified presence of Indian consulates in Afghan towns bordering Balochistan. This can only be countered by spreading the concepts of the Founding Fathers all over the country, not just in Balochistan. General Kayani, as well as the institution he heads, should be aware that the Founding Fathers were so clear that the military did not have a role in governance that they never even mentioned it. Therefore, spreading the thought of the Founding Fathers, especially their vision of what Pakistan is all about, is essential throughout the country if there is to be any ideological counter to the pernicious beliefs being spread by separatists. The government of the day, which is in power both in the centre and in Balochistan, should work harder to achieve national unity, and not merely leave it to the Army to act as an agent for national unity.
DAILYTIMES
COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has taken to making regular visits to Balochistan of late. On his latest tour, he addressed ceremonies marking the launching of a newly established military college in Sui and the Gwadar Institute of Technology, also an army project. Previously, the army has set up a cadet college in the province, some of the graduates of which (about 5,000) are about to be inducted into the Pakistani military. At Sui the COAS was at pains to assert that no ‘military’ operation was being conducted in Balochistan and that the two battalions of the army deployed on security duties at Sui would be withdrawn, to be replaced by the Frontier Corps (FC). He also stated that no military operation would be conducted without the permission of the provincial government (which would certainly be a first). Also, that the four cantonments to be built in Balochistan that were announced by General Pervez Musharraf at the height of the troubles following the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, are not now going to be built and no new cantonment will be built unless the people agree to it. General Kayani also underlined the importance of the civilian law enforcement agencies’ need to get their act together, since the army could not handle internal security entirely on its own. He also voiced his apprehensions regarding the economy of the country, warning of the consequences of an economic meltdown, a la the Soviet Union.
Now all these are sweet words and quite unlike what the Baloch are used to hearing from official quarters. However, if they are meant to placate the anger seething amongst the people of the province and to convince the Baloch that the Pakistan army is a national institution, their institution, far more than sweet words may be required. While ostensibly the COAS’ statement that no ‘military’ operation is being conducted appears technically accurate since it is not the regular army but the FC that is carrying out ‘operations’ in Balochistan such as disappearances of nationalist cadres and the dumping of their tortured and bullet-riddled bodies all over the province, the fact that regular army formations such as the one at Sui will be sent back to their barracks in Quetta does not provide the salve to the wounds of the angry Baloch that it may be intended to since the FC is arguably hated the most in the province, being considered the main culprit in the miseries visited upon the province’s people. The replacement of the regular army by the FC at Sui may be likened by the Baloch to jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
The setting up of cadet and technical institutions to provide education and training to Baloch youth with a view to the possible induction of more and more of them into the ranks of the armed forces is unexceptionable as a concept and in itself. At Gwadar, General Kayani announced that the army would set up an Army Medical College, an Institute of Mineralogy, and a Cardiac Treatment Centre in Quetta. But all this too may not suffice to ease the hurt and anger of the people of Balochistan.
Chief Minister Aslam Raisani too pitched in with his wisdom while talking to journalists after returning to Quetta from the ceremony at Gwadar. He asserted that the people of Balochistan do not want separation. This is the propaganda of a few and the (ubiquitous) foreign hand too cannot be ruled out. If the separatist sentiment is the work of only a few, it must be said that they are proving increasingly effective in stoking the fires of nationalism, helped and abetted by the actions of the authorities, especially the FC. Could it be that it is the repressive policies of the FC that are persuading more and more youth to take up arms in the mountains? As to the always present ‘foreign hand’, this is an old and tired record in which the needle has been stuck in the same groove as long as can be remembered. Nevertheless, logically no conditions should be created in any part of the country that may open the doors to the ‘foreign hand’ fishing in troubled waters.
To avoid the catastrophe that is looming in Balochistan and therefore for the country, sops such as army-organised education, training and induction into the armed forces of Baloch youth and all other welfare measures may not prove efficacious so long as the repression continues. What is missing in this scenario is a dialogue with the guerrillas in the mountains, the nationalist leadership at home and in exile, and with the people of Balochistan as a whole to address their grievances and bring them into the fold through a process of genuine reconciliation. Do we have the vision and will for that? *
The Express Tribune
The announcement by the army chief that the last of the military battalions posted in the troubled Balochistan district of Sui will be withdrawn within two months is news that will be welcomed by the people of the province. So will General Kayani’s assertion that there will be no further intervention in the province by troops, except with the permission of the provincial government. The deployment of troops in Balochistan has, over many decades, added to the anger and angst which runs through the territory and is added to each time a civilian is stopped at a barricade manned by uniformed personnel. The realisation of the problem had come some months ago, when the central government had ordered the cancellation of new barracks planned for Balochistan. The army chief’s decision takes this further — though he still seems to be somewhat out of step with reality when he speaks of the part played by the army in the development of Balochistan, and especially the educational institutions set up there. This is not a role everyone in the province welcomes.
The issue of Balochistan is not only that of development, but also of the manner in which resources to it are allocated and utilised. It is important for the people of the province to be treated as decision-makers in the process. Had this role been granted to them earlier and greater wisdom exercised by both the military and political leadership in the handling of affairs in the province, we may have averted the crisis we see there now. Of course, much more still needs to be done to redress the grievances of the poeple of the province. That said, the gesture of the troop pullout is a significant one. The expanded recruitment of Baloch youth in the army may also help address the unemployment crisis in the region. But these actions are not enough on their own. There are many complications in the Balochistan situation; positions have become more and more entrenched over the years. Some nationalists are unwilling to consider anything less than complete autonomy. Political dialogue is essential to resolve these issues, and, alongside the military withdrawal, move towards finding lasting peace in a province where chaos prevails for now.
DAWN
THE planned withdrawal of the army from the Sui area has finally been announced, with security responsibilities to be transferred to the Frontier Corps over the next couple of months. Does the move offer an opportunity to begin to turn around the disastrous security situation in the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan? It remains to be seen. While the army’s move has been publicly positioned as a nod to the wishes of the Baloch people, there is a sense that perhaps the catalyst may be a section of opinion within the army that has been opposed to using the military as a lethal instrument inside Balochistan. Moreover, the Baloch insurgents, and a considerable section of the public, believe that the main instruments of terror are the paramilitary forces, such as the Frontier Corps, and the ubiquitous intelligence agencies, meaning that the army withdrawal may not have much impact on Baloch perceptions.
Nevertheless, anything which sends conciliatory signals in the restive province ought to be welcomed. Balochistan is still not a lost province, in political terms, but the warning lights have furiously been blinking for some time now. As Baloch grievances spread further and deeper among the province’s population, there is a grave risk of an entire generation of Baloch youth growing up with little to no faith in the idea of Pakistan. Even the old tribal system is increasingly frayed, with a generation of angry youth inching towards hard-line stances and away from the guidance of the tribal sardars and nawabs. Complacency or indifference at the centre could yet push the Baloch beyond the tipping point.
Central as the role of the security establishment and the political government in Islamabad may be in recovering the situation in Balochistan, the abysmal role played by the provincial government cannot be overlooked. Gen Kayani was right in exhorting the provincial law-enforcement agencies and administration to improve their performance. In a sea of under-performing administrations, perhaps the performance of the Balochistan government has been the worst. Routinely accusations of monumental incompetence and corruption are laid against the provincial authorities. In that environment, the hard work of recovering a grim security situation becomes doubly difficult. Missing persons may be a critical issue and the provincial authorities do face serious security threats, but there is a sense that were the presence of the provincial government more visible and purposeful, at least the everyday terror that has invaded the lives of ordinary citizens could be pushed back. What’s really needed is a concerted plan of action bringing together all the instruments of the state, central and provincial. But is there the will?
The News
The announcement by COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to pull the last battalion based in Balochistan out of Sui within the next two months will go down well in a province that, from the perspective of its people, has seen far too much action from the men in khaki since the 1950s. The step, if it is taken, will be especially significant as it will mean an end to the military presence in the Dera Bugti district, an area that has become a hotbed of nationalism over the past five years or so. General Kayani has made it clear that in the future there will be no military intervention without the consent of the government in the province. The decision to step up recruitment to the army from Balochistan may also help young men in the province move into careers. Unemployment is one of the evils stalking the sands of our largest province.General Kayani’s decisions could help reduce the resentments that simmer in Balochistan. But on their own, they cannot be enough to solve the problems of the province which have grown rapidly over the years. It urgently needs to see development. The educational institutions run there by the army, whose role has been highlighted by General Kayani, cannot achieve this on their own. A great deal of input is required from the central government, in cooperation with the provincial leadership, to place development on a fast-track in the province and, by doing so, persuade people of a genuine desire to change things. This could set in place the solid foundation needed to initiate a process of dialogue, discussion and debate in Balochistan, for a move to be made towards finding solutions. The government needs to adopt measures that can prevent further deterioration in a province that has seen accelerating violence over the past few years with no end in sight.------
HE planned withdrawal of the army from the Sui area has finally been announced, with security responsibilities to be transferred to the Frontier Corps over the next couple of months. Does the move offer an opportunity to begin to turn around the disastrous security situation in the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan? It remains to be seen. While the army’s move has been publicly positioned as a nod to the wishes of the Baloch people, there is a sense that perhaps the catalyst may be a section of opinion within the army that has been opposed to using the military as a lethal instrument inside Balochistan. Moreover, the Baloch insurgents, and a considerable section of the public, believe that the main instruments of terror are the paramilitary forces, such as the Frontier Corps, and the ubiquitous intelligence agencies, meaning that the army withdrawal may not have much impact on Baloch perceptions.
The NATION
COAS General Kayani has announced that the army will withdraw from Sui and Gwadar, where units have been engaged in internal security duties, and their function will be taken over by the Frontier Corps, and has given a timeframe of two months for this. He made the announcement while addressing the inauguration of the Government Institute of Technology, Gwadar, which had been set up for the vocational training of local youth. He said that the army had been trying to bring the population into the national mainstream, and mentioned that 5000 Baloch youth would join the army in May. The withdrawal of forces should go some way towards meeting the demands of the Baloch separatists, but it would be also more helpful if there was more cooperation in the case before the Supreme Court of the missing persons, so that at least those lucky people who had relatives alive could get in touch with them. However, General Kayani did not mention the teachings and thought of the Quaid-i-Azam and of Allama Iqbal. Their concept of an Islamic democratic welfare state was the purpose of creating Pakistan, and whose teachings should be propagated widely to make it understood that Pakistan was not created for the hegemony of any one group, but so that the people could live their lives in accordance with their aspirations and in accordance with the thought of the Founding Fathers. Though speaking in Balochistan with reference to events there, General Kayani also referred to the collapse of the USSR, which he rightly said showed how internal rifts broke up a country. Therefore, the efforts, both individual and institutional, at bringing Balochistan into the national mainstream, would only bear fruit if made with the sincerity of purpose. Apart from the missing persons, Balochistan is also being subjected to separatist pressures by the unjustified presence of Indian consulates in Afghan towns bordering Balochistan. This can only be countered by spreading the concepts of the Founding Fathers all over the country, not just in Balochistan. General Kayani, as well as the institution he heads, should be aware that the Founding Fathers were so clear that the military did not have a role in governance that they never even mentioned it. Therefore, spreading the thought of the Founding Fathers, especially their vision of what Pakistan is all about, is essential throughout the country if there is to be any ideological counter to the pernicious beliefs being spread by separatists. The government of the day, which is in power both in the centre and in Balochistan, should work harder to achieve national unity, and not merely leave it to the Army to act as an agent for national unity.
DAILYTIMES
COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has taken to making regular visits to Balochistan of late. On his latest tour, he addressed ceremonies marking the launching of a newly established military college in Sui and the Gwadar Institute of Technology, also an army project. Previously, the army has set up a cadet college in the province, some of the graduates of which (about 5,000) are about to be inducted into the Pakistani military. At Sui the COAS was at pains to assert that no ‘military’ operation was being conducted in Balochistan and that the two battalions of the army deployed on security duties at Sui would be withdrawn, to be replaced by the Frontier Corps (FC). He also stated that no military operation would be conducted without the permission of the provincial government (which would certainly be a first). Also, that the four cantonments to be built in Balochistan that were announced by General Pervez Musharraf at the height of the troubles following the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, are not now going to be built and no new cantonment will be built unless the people agree to it. General Kayani also underlined the importance of the civilian law enforcement agencies’ need to get their act together, since the army could not handle internal security entirely on its own. He also voiced his apprehensions regarding the economy of the country, warning of the consequences of an economic meltdown, a la the Soviet Union.
Now all these are sweet words and quite unlike what the Baloch are used to hearing from official quarters. However, if they are meant to placate the anger seething amongst the people of the province and to convince the Baloch that the Pakistan army is a national institution, their institution, far more than sweet words may be required. While ostensibly the COAS’ statement that no ‘military’ operation is being conducted appears technically accurate since it is not the regular army but the FC that is carrying out ‘operations’ in Balochistan such as disappearances of nationalist cadres and the dumping of their tortured and bullet-riddled bodies all over the province, the fact that regular army formations such as the one at Sui will be sent back to their barracks in Quetta does not provide the salve to the wounds of the angry Baloch that it may be intended to since the FC is arguably hated the most in the province, being considered the main culprit in the miseries visited upon the province’s people. The replacement of the regular army by the FC at Sui may be likened by the Baloch to jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
The setting up of cadet and technical institutions to provide education and training to Baloch youth with a view to the possible induction of more and more of them into the ranks of the armed forces is unexceptionable as a concept and in itself. At Gwadar, General Kayani announced that the army would set up an Army Medical College, an Institute of Mineralogy, and a Cardiac Treatment Centre in Quetta. But all this too may not suffice to ease the hurt and anger of the people of Balochistan.
Chief Minister Aslam Raisani too pitched in with his wisdom while talking to journalists after returning to Quetta from the ceremony at Gwadar. He asserted that the people of Balochistan do not want separation. This is the propaganda of a few and the (ubiquitous) foreign hand too cannot be ruled out. If the separatist sentiment is the work of only a few, it must be said that they are proving increasingly effective in stoking the fires of nationalism, helped and abetted by the actions of the authorities, especially the FC. Could it be that it is the repressive policies of the FC that are persuading more and more youth to take up arms in the mountains? As to the always present ‘foreign hand’, this is an old and tired record in which the needle has been stuck in the same groove as long as can be remembered. Nevertheless, logically no conditions should be created in any part of the country that may open the doors to the ‘foreign hand’ fishing in troubled waters.
To avoid the catastrophe that is looming in Balochistan and therefore for the country, sops such as army-organised education, training and induction into the armed forces of Baloch youth and all other welfare measures may not prove efficacious so long as the repression continues. What is missing in this scenario is a dialogue with the guerrillas in the mountains, the nationalist leadership at home and in exile, and with the people of Balochistan as a whole to address their grievances and bring them into the fold through a process of genuine reconciliation. Do we have the vision and will for that? *
