Daily Times

Ostensibly, paradigm shifts ensue following the whim and desires of the powerful and in no way the benefit of the state machinery and governments. Strategically, these shifts are engineered as per the advice of the masters and in their own best interests, changing the regional geo-political ramification and, most of the time, destabilising countries. It has perhaps remained a long-term policy in the cold war that eventually culminated into the war against terror giving an alibi to NATO countries to enter, destabilise and then retreat, leaving the country in shambles, engulfing most of South Asia. It all started with the Iraq war. Bush invaded Iraq with the pretext that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction but none were eventually found. Iraq was the first country to be destabilised and the cancerous policy continued to engulf the whole region of South Asia.

Lucky for General Zia that the economy was in a deplorable state and a blessing in disguise for him to directly involve the intelligence agencies in Afghanistan in return for funds from the west to sustain an economy already in despair. Before going ahead, the general called Mir Ghaus Buksh Bizenjo and he was categorically told to refrain from being a party to the war as one day the same guns would point towards Pakistan, and that is exactly what is happening today. During the early 1980s, one of the Afghan refugees became a provincial minister in the Balochistan cabinet qualifying for the Guinness Book of World Records. Afghan trucks were allowed into Pakistan without any documentation, depriving Pakistanis a chunk of the business. A major quantity of arms meant for the Afghan Taliban was sold in Pakistan. 9/11 was again a blessing for Musharraf who ruled for nine years. The tremors of both consequences are being felt today. Pakistan is full of surprises.

The Afghan war brought with it disease, influx of an unrecorded population, drugs, lawlessness, arms and ammunition and, with it, entered terrorists in the name of refugees. It is difficult to comprehend for whom Pakistan came into being. Every day, more and more illegal immigrants are entering the country from its porous borders, patronised by ethnic groups providing them with national identity cards (NICs) and passports with no check and balances. I met an Afghan from Kandahar in Zahidan Iran and he proudly waved around his new Pakistani NIC and a valid Pakistani passport after knowing that I was a Pakistani. The 2013 elections were a blessing for illegal Afghans residing in Quetta. They were given the issuance of Pakistani NICs in return for their votes to win the elections; the same is the case with other ethnic groups that reside in Karachi. The local Baloch and Pashtuns are now gradually being marginalised and will soon become minorities. Cognisably, Afghans now own most of the prime properties in Quetta city. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) should be taken to task and questioned that how Pakistani NICs have been issued to foreigners. NADRA carries more responsibility than anyone else. All policies are fabricated as per foreign designs and the will and whims of foreign masters. The biggest mistake was to become a proxy in a war that was not Pakistan’s war, eventually creating a situation where the country is at war within.

Najeebullah, the former president of Afghanistan, during his last days, sent a messenger to Pakistan seeking the taking over of Afghanistan by a force from Islamic countries to conduct free and fair elections in the country for the transfer of power but his request was declined by Ghulam Ishaaq Khan. Najib replied that he would be killed and his government would eventually fall, Pakistan should understand that the region would not see peace but only destruction for the next 50 years and that Pakistan would be the biggest loser. The mujahideen government installed with the help of Pakistan and NATO powers eventually hanged Najibullah. The mujahideen turned into the Taliban and now pose a serious threat to the region, and to Pakistan in particular.

In particular context to Balochistan, like the British, every successive government that came into power patronised the sardars. The people at the grassroots level remain neglected and qualified students can only get jobs by paying big sums of money. Neglect, wrong policies and repeated events further antagonised the Baloch. The last nail in the coffin was the execution of Shaheed Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. Was his murder part of a design together with other events to force the young Baloch to react and then start their execution by calling them separatists? Although there is no proper reporting, mutilated corpses of young Baloch boys thrown around like garbage is not unknown. The press, human rights groups and the provincial government of Balochistan are all castrated in this matter. Repeated wrong polices have put the country in a state a war within that it cannot win, then how can it win a war externally?

The passing of Article 21 of the Constitution shows that the government has lost its legitimacy and its trust and confidence over the courts already operating. Corruption has contributed to the downfall of this country and warrants another bill where the corrupt should also be tried by military courts to bring them to justice. This country needs drastic reforms and ceremonial operators should be replaced with those who can be effective in carrying out policies in the best interest of Pakistan. We are very far from free and fair elections, particularly in Balochistan where it is more a selection rather than an election, a fact known by all but said by none. Pakistan is full of surprises.

There is a particular mindset that has developed with time. This mindset cannot be changed or eliminated with guns and by force. The country will remain in a state of jeopardy and war forever. We are very badly mistaken that the terrorists can be totally eliminated by killing them. Society in Pakistan has become trigger happy beyond any imagination. It is therefore inevitable for the government and other effective functionaries to develop and plan new strategies in the right direction to overcome the menace of terrorism in Pakistan, as ad hoc arrangements and aggressiveness will not suffice to achieve the goal in changing the mindset.

The writer is a freelance columnist