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Love: a Paradox That Is Not

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Love: a Paradox That Is Not 14 panorama DHAKA, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2012 panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama panorama No calm for Balochistan? Islamabad’s political plexus, enduring anxieties, and the fruitlessness of regional aspirations slamabad is reaping all lishment to allow any sub - really a nation state of the rising suspicion regarding for - But due to incompetence and eral elements into the politi - sidelining the Baloch in sig - the benefits, depriving stantial regional autonomy, Baloch people with a fixed set- eign actors in Balochistan. corruption among civilian cal-administrative system, nificant decisions concerning the locals from their thus depriving the Baloch peo - up of a political-bureaucratic Now, a fifth insurgency is institutions and subordinated described as ‘fissiparous ten - their province. Furthermore, legitimate share’! In brief, this ple of their legitimate rights. framework, it gave birth to the under way in the form of a authorities, politicians and dencies’ (Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) a‘demilitarisation process’ has popular statement among crit - The government in Islamabad ideational roots of Baloch more or less‘low intensity con - bureaucrats continue to rely which were identified as to be started which includes ics of the political plexus of the is worsening the situation by nationalism by giving a con - flict’ which however carries on the army and (military) sources of instability and the withdrawal of troops, the country’s establishment sum - depriving the province of a fair crete, historical-institutional high potential to turn into a intelligence in maintaining law essential challenges towards stop of building new canton - marises much of the griev - share of revenue distribution point of reference. large scale mass upheaval at and order. In consequence national unity and integration. ments, and limiting the per - ances of the Baloch people natural resources. By evaluating the historical any time, like after a rape of a they are losing significant deci - Promising measures like Raza formance of the Coast Guards towards Pakistan’s national Furthermore, the Punjabi patterns of coercive force as female doctor in a hospital in sion-making power when it Rabbani`s 18th Amendment to their primary duties, e.g. government. But besides the dominated national estab - political instrument, it is not Sui by Pakistani soldiers result - comes to policy formulation to Pakistan’s Constitution, the only controlling the borders fact that this sentiment is in lishment also ousted the surprising that the current ed in a major attack on the and implementation towards 7th National Finance under the Customs Acts. line with the core rational of Baloch from local decision- armed confrontations in nearby gas installations in Balochistan. Therefore, it Commission Award (NFC), the In this context one must conflictual relations between making and implementation Balochistan are hardly a new early 2005 as well as other vio - seems that civilians have not Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e- state that the recently the center and its obstinate processes by appointing phenomenon. Post-colonial lent incidents in other parts of much room to manoeuvre to Balochistan package (or announced ‘reanimation’ and DR. SIEGFRIED periphery, it only partially bureaucrats from Sindh and Pakistan witnessed four insur - the province. work towards a non-security ‘Baluchistan conciliation pack - intensified implementation of reflects the multidimensional Punjab to the provincial insti - gencies: First, between 1947 Since then, the insurgency dominated approach. age’) mark some important the Balochistan package by the O. WOLF and multi-layered conflict in tutions and authorities, espe - and 1948, after the Khan of which started already in 2004 However, with or without civil - efforts on paper but fail to pro - end of 2013 remains highly Balochistan today. cially the local security forces. Kalat declared independence is picking up more steam with ian control it seems that there duce significant changes unlikely taking into account - Doubtless, Balochistan is a In addition Islamabad does on August 15, 1947 and after each violent clash, worsening is no remarkable difference towards worthwhile de cen - in addition to the lack of moti - region of contradictory not shy away from dismissing several months of war Kalat the security situation and dete - between civilians, the‘elected tralisation in reality. This is vation- the poor governance extremes: With 43 per cent of ‘inconvenient’ provincial gov - was annexed forcefully by riorating the socio-economic representatives’ of the people unfortunate since the package performance of successive the country’s land-mass ernments. Subsequently, the Pakistan. Second, from 1958 conditions of all people living in Islamabad or the generals was trying to deal with many regimes in developing the Balochistan is the largest of electoral process has lost sig - to 1959, after the martial law in Balochistan. The robust in Rawalpindi in their of the most pressing chal - country into account. In con - Pakistan’s four provinces nificance for the Baloch as a regime sent its troops into response of the Pakistan secu - approach towards lenges of the Balochistan con - sequence, the half-hearted (besides Sindh, Punjab, form of expressing their polit - flicts. Some of the ‘ignored measures of Islamabad are not Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/former ical will. In brief, they treated issues’ are giving priority and only fruitless but further alien - NWFP) but also the least pop - Balochistan like an internal control over natural resources, ate the Baloch. ulated region (with around 6 colony, the same strategy broadcasting and telecasting Nevertheless, one must also million inhabitants , Baloch which the Punjabi dominated infrastructure to the provin - state that the conflict has only amount to 4 per cent of government applied to its for - cial government, starting a become much more complex the total population). It is mer East-Pakistan wing until sustainable dialogue for peace over the years, especially due strategically well placed but it fought successfully for its with the Baloch, and facilitat - to the increasing number of does not receive in-depth pri - independence. Last but not ing the return of exiled dis - actors involved not only inter - oritising within security cir - least, decisions regarding sents. Furthermore, the inves - national but also local ones. cles. It is rich in energy and Balochistan are made in a tigation of activities by Therefore, the conflict is not mineral resources, but it is at framework of a tense civil-mil - Pakistan’s security agencies, anymore only about the cen - the same time Pakistan’s least itary relationship which does particularly the role of the tre and periphery, Baloch ver - DUE TO AN developed and industrialised not favour a sustainable polit - paramilitary Frontier Corps sus Islamabad. It is also about ‘ENDURING ANXIETY’ region with the lowest level of ical solution. In consequence, Baluchistan, the regular Army international rivalries, Baloch literacy and income with over Baloch (leaders) had no share and intelligence services, the versus non-Baloch living in OF NATIONAL 80 per cent of the population in the existing state power ‘missing’ political activists and Balochistan, and last but not DISINTEGRATION, THERE living beneath the poverty line. structure, forcing them to turn target killings e.g. of key fig - least it involves conflicts Beside the fact that there are towards an ‘own state entity’, ures like Nawab Akbar Bugti between Baloch versus Baloch IS AN UNWILLINGNESS OF strong elements of secularism either through more autono - in August 2006, the most visi - divided through different ISLAMABAD’S POLITICAL and anti-religious-extremism my or by creating an own sep - ble face of the current Baloch cleavages like attitude towards as well as pro-Pakistan senti - arate state. resistance, who was not only Islamabad, significance of AND MILITARY ments, it is the country’s most However, to be able to a Tumandar (tribal chief) of autonomy or separatism, use ESTABLISHMENT TO troubled area finding its understand this conundrum the largest Baloch tribe, the of violence as a political tool expression in severe militant one has to take the complex Bugti, but also a strong pro - etc. As a result, the prospect of ALLOW ANY SUBSTANTIAL responses towards Islamabad and long history of the ponent of autonomy, or any form of political solution REGIONAL AUTONOMY combined with a remarkable Balochistan crisis into Nawabzada Balach Marri, the is becoming increasingly increase in violence against account. As many separatist, elusive commander of the remote. However, the estab - non-Baloch, ethnic and reli - subnational and autonomous secretive, shadowy Balochistan lishment in Islamabad will gious minorities. tendencies in South Asia, also Liberation Amy (BLA), in never accept a separation of How have these antagonis - Baloch nationalism can be Kalat in order to arrest the rity forces did not only lead to Balochistan. Here one has to November 2007. Witnessing Balochistan. Observing the tic trajectories developed over traced back to colonial times. Khan as well as to disarm the massive human rights viola - state that both, politicians and numerous extrajudicial killings imbalance of military capa - time? Did they only surface In consequence of the ‘Great tribesman, which inevitably tions (many observers are soldiers, belong to the same by Islamabad’s law enforcing bilities of the combatants due to the unfortunate
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