Nawaz’s Balochistan outreach

In a positive development, former prime minister and PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif has told National Party (NP) chief and former chief minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch that he is ready to play an active role in addressing Balochistan's longstanding issues, including its political and security challenges. As protests erupt across Balochistan and Karachi over the arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activists and the state's heavy-handed crackdown in return, Nawaz Sharif’s willingness to play an active role in resolving Balochistan's long-standing issues offers a rare moment of cautious hope. This is not the first time Nawaz Sharif and Dr Malik Baloch have come together on the Balochistan question. Their collaboration in 2013, when Dr Malik served as chief minister during Nawaz’s third term as prime minister, was marked by a level of political engagement that, while far from perfect, did give the province a fleeting sense of inclusion. But as Dr Malik has rightly pointed out, the situation today is drastically different. What was once a matter of governance and economic neglect has now morphed into a far deeper crisis of alienation, enforced disappearances and worsening militarisation.

Nawaz’s outreach and willingness to visit Balochistan and meet local political leaders carries the potential to rebuild trust between the centre and the province. Dr Malik has outlined sensible and humane confidence-building measures (CBMs): the release of missing persons and women activists, development projects, local ownership of resources like minerals, and improved governance. These are not radical demands; they are literally the bare minimum steps towards restoring some semblance of normalcy in a province that has seen little of it. For far too long has the state relied almost exclusively on force when dealing with Balochistan. While there is no denying that militant groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) must be dealt with firmly (and there really ought not be any ifs and buts on this), the indiscriminate branding of all dissent as 'anti-state' has done irreparable damage. Peaceful activists, students and nationalists are lumped together with violent insurgents, silencing legitimate grievances and pushing more youth towards alienation — or worse, towards militancy.

We have long maintained that almost most of Balochistan’s problems are political at their core and demand political solutions. No amount of force can replace dialogue, dignity, and justice. The current wave of unrest stems from a deep-seated perception of exclusion from the Pakistani mainstream — a perception that successive governments have done little to dispel. A Punjabi leader like Nawaz Sharif taking the lead on this issue is strategic and one hopes it sends a message that Balochistan's concerns are not peripheral but central to the federation's stability. Whether the powers-that-be will allow Nawaz the space to maneuver is not yet certain, but Dr Malik’s confidence in Nawaz’s track record offers some reassurance. His ability to form consensus and deliver on commitments may be exactly what is needed in this moment of national urgency. The road ahead will not be easy. Decades of mistrust and suppression cannot be undone overnight. But dialogue must begin in earnest. The youth of Balochistan, disillusioned and disenfranchised, deserve to be heard and engaged with empathy, not suspicion. If we do not offer them a place within the democratic fold, we leave them at the mercy of militants like the BLA that seek to tear the country apart. Balochistan needs a healing touch from within the federation.