The restive province of Balochistan seems to get no rest from violence and bloodshed. On Monday, a passenger train was hit by a devastating bomb attack when the explosive device, planted on the railway track, went off just as the train was approaching a station in the Naseerabad district, 250 kilometres from Quetta. The blast, so far, has caused the deaths of six people and has left more than 17 people injured. The wreckage is indescribable — the train was blown off the tracks and bogeys were lying on the ground away from the rails with holes in them. The attack intended maximum casualties and fatalities. So far, no one has come forward to claim responsibility for this act but suspicions are being cast on the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), an outfit of the Bugti rebels. The location of the attack was close to the Bugti tribal area and so fingers are being pointed at the BRA but only time will tell if these speculations hold any weight.
Balochistan has been a hotbed of anger, frustration and double games for years now but the recent natural catastrophe of last month’s earthquake has exacerbated the situation even more. Awaran in Balochistan is where the earthquake hit hardest and there has been little relief given to the affected people there. The army, which seems to be the only ‘aid agency’ that has access to the quake-hit areas says that it is not being allowed to carry out relief work unimpeded because it is being attacked by the insurgents. The nationalists, on the other hand, say that all the army’s claims of aid efforts amount to nothing more than a camouflage for the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) to continue with its repressive policies, including its propensity for killing and dumping Baloch citizens that it has kidnapped. Obviously, the nationalists (and even the people at the receiving end of such policies) will never accept any such ‘aid’. The provincial government says it is ready for a peace dialogue with the insurgents. Seeing that the cabinet of the Balochistan government has just been formed after four months, the task of arranging peace talks is huge. One cannot expect the nationalists who are fuming because of the FC’s reported crimes against the Baloch to just come to the table if these repressive activities do not stop. Any attempts at a political settlement to tackle separatist sentiment are undermined when the all powerful military continues on its present course . Conditions must be created so that a stop is put to the attacks on citizens. The FC, if indeed guilty, needs to back off from its kidnap, torture, kill policy so that separatist sentiment is not hardened. *