Balochistan’s ‘game of thrones’

As an avid reader of fiction, I often wonder if even some of those who sit at the high table in the citadel of power read books and have learnt to use their imagination and their minds to deal with our problems creatively.

Ah, but the issue I have this week is Balochistan and not literature. I am led astray because it has never been easy to write about Balochistan. It is not possible to be candid about it. And its treacherous environment has many separate aspects to delve into.

But Balochistan is what Pakistan has to come to terms with, at its own peril. What happened during the Sunday-Monday night, at the outset of this week, has shaken the country. Though the idea of not to be seen in a state of panic makes good sense, the moves that are being made by the present rulers signify a state of emergency.

Obviously, the state is formulating a response to the province’s militancy challenge. Statements proclaim to uproot the militancy menace, using all resources that are at the disposal of the army. There is “no room for weakness”. Simultaneously, it was asserted that doors for dialogue “were open and would remain open” for those who believe in Pakistan.

We cannot be sure as to what is different in what is now proposed to be done in the beleaguered province. But what happened during the long night of Sunday is certainly unprecedented. It was a night of terror that could hardly be anticipated. It is possible that ordinary Pakistanis are not yet aware of the magnitude of the damage that the militants associated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were able to inflict in coordinated attacks in separate districts.

In Musakhel, a district on the border with Punjab, militants shot dead 23 persons after checking their identity documents. They blew up a railway bridge near Kolpur, cutting off Quetta from the rest of the country. Another track near Mastung was damaged, disconnecting the rail link to Iran. Militants stormed a paramilitary camp in Bela. As many as 35 trucks, buses and other vehicles were set on fire on the highway near Rara Sham. There were other incidents. In all, 70 people lost their lives, including militants and security personnel.

If something like this happens in a province that has a long history of violent unrest and terrorism, including of a sectarian nature, what is to be done? To be sure, there has been an updated repetition of what is wrong with Balochistan. We have seen the faces and read the names of our seasoned experts who have followed the affairs of the province for many decades. They are, in a sense, shouting from the rooftops. Why are those who govern this country not able to hear these voices?

I have some personal experience of being a part of some earnest studies of the province. In fact, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has regularly been sending fact-finding missions to Balochistan and their credible reports have duly been published. I was a member of three of these missions and two of these, in 2009 and 2013, were led by Asma Jahangir.

I remember sitting on the lawn of the Quaid-e-Azam Residency in Ziarat soon after it was attacked with hand grenades by the militants in June 2013. We were there at the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University just two or three days after a bomb on the university’s bus had killed 14 female students and injured 22 others. When the survivors were taken to the hospital, gunmen killed another 11 people. This was sectarian terror, targeting the Hazara community.

I can recall a number of other very educational visits to different regions of the province. There was one with a PILDAT group which provided an opportunity to discuss the situation with distinguished individuals from different walks of life.

For a change, there was an exciting and cheerful encounter when I participated in a literary festival in Quetta in May this year. It was a grand show sponsored by the Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi. But the mood was sombre in a long, off-the-record session with local journalists on the rooftop of the Quetta Press Club. By the way, the club was ordered on Wednesday to not hold any conference or seminar without a no objection certificate. This is how the administration does not learn its lessons.

The most recent HRCP report on rights’ violations in Balochistan was released in April last year, titled ‘Balochistan’s struggle for hope’. It expressed deep concern about the mounting public frustration over enforced disappearances, economic exclusion, curbs on press freedom, misgovernance and allegations of political manipulations by the establishment.

Now, I have invoked that blockbuster TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ because thinking about Balochistan, I was reminded of a line spoken in one of its episodes. Yes, it is “power is power” and the dramatic manner in which it is demonstrated would be familiar to a large number of people, because of its circulation on social media. But what is the message of this repudiation of the adage that “knowledge is power”?

However, Balochistan may not exactly be a game of thrones. I have another quotation from the serial: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground”. In Balochistan, the game may better be played in the middle ground.

But irrespective of all these distractions, many questions that are raised by the shocking attacks by BLA on Sunday night remain unanswered. That is the story of Balochistan. The truth of what it is remains indescribable. Coincidentally, Friday was the UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Finally, Balochistan is indeed one crisis out of many that Pakistan is embroiled in. But Balochistan is an example of how efficient we are in keeping our crises unresolved.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com