In what is being portrayed as yet another attempt by the Pakistani government to appease Balochistan, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Ashfaq Kayani has announced to replace Pakistan Army soldiers with the Paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in Sui, the gas-rich town of Balochistan.
Pakistan army has long been floating reforms and introducing parliamentary committees to cater to the Baloch sentiment of deprivation but to no avail. The first comprehensive effort to deal with the Balochistan issues peacefully, came when caretaker Prime Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain announced two parliamentary committees to spearhead this initiative in 2004.
Pakistan army has long been floating reforms and introducing parliamentary committees to cater to the Baloch sentiment of deprivation but to no avail.
The first committee headed by Senator Wasim Sajjad was given the responsibility to identify and compile Balochistan’s issues pertaining to provincial autonomy and control on its natural resources. The second committee led by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed was asked to monitor and address Balochistan’s reservations on the army presence in the province and projects such as the Gwadar Port. Despite these efforts, the recommendations made by these committees were never implemented.
This new decision by the Pakistan Government to replace PA soldiers by the FC, just goes to show the indifference of the establishment towards the actual grievances of the people of Balochistan. Today, Balochistan is suffering more at the hands of FC than the Pakistani Army or the federal government. Frontier Corps (FC) that comprises of barely 10% of local Baloch, is considered notorious and more of a troubleshooter than a problem solver. The Frontier Corps are accused of being instrumental in forced disappearances and ‘kill and dump’ activities in the Balochistan province. As alleged by the Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani, the FC runs a parallel government within the province.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, disappearances in Balochistan have become a routine work of the FC and state intelligence agencies. Since 2010, The law enforcement authorities have introduced a new trend in which they kill the disappeared person extra judicially so as to bury all evidences of their involvement.
Despite the fact that the FC image is an open secret now, General Kayanis decision to deploy FC in Sui raises a few crucial questions, does he approve of the unconstitutional activities of the FC?
In one of the recent incidents that was reported in February 2011, two dead bodies of disappeared persons were found bearing bullet wounds and torture marks in a remote area. Both victims were abducted from Sindh province at different times. The onlookers could identify the abductors as the FC soldiers as they were dressed in their uniform.
Despite the fact that the FC image is an open secret now, General Kayani’s decision to deploy FC in Sui raises a few crucial questions, does he approve of the unconstitutional activities of the FC? Is it a deliberate attempt to let loose the reign of terror on the people of Balochistan?
That is the inference that one can derive from the actions of the Pakistan Government. The level of misunderstanding only worsens as Pakistan fails to come clear with its intentions for the people of Balochistan. Just as the Pakistani establishment claims that the military operations in Balochistan have decreased, the Baloch are quick to cite incidents of disappearances, killings of political leaders and workers. There is an absolute ambiguity in discriminating between the terminology used by the Pakistan government.
| Editor’s Pick |
Balochistan at present has many serious issues that need to be catered to. Dealing with FC is just one of them. General Kayani’s focus should be more on development, trust building in Balochistan. And this can happen only once the presence of the Pakistani Army and the Paramilitary Frontier Corps is reduced to bare minimal in the province. The underground torture cells should be disbanded and the forced disappearances in the province should be checked.
Pakistan, which is working in close co-operation with the US, in its war against terrorism should take some concrete steps to resolve issues in Balochistan.
The allegation of the Balochistan CM that the FC is running a parallel government in the province should be investigated and FC should be restrained from interfering in political developments.
The cases of missing persons should be seriously looked into by the Supreme Court and the authority to decide the fate of the victims should also rest with the Supreme Court. State led independent investigations should be carried out to look into the matter.
Stern actions should be taken against militant groups such as the Baloch Musla Defai Tanzeem and Sipa-e-Shudha-e-Balochistan, which have accepted the responsibility of killing 120 missing Baloch persons. These groups have allegedly been a face for the security establishment and such leads should be seriously investigated.
Pakistan, which is working in close co-operation with the US, in its war against terrorism should take some concrete steps to resolve issues in Balochistan.
—THL