Daily Times

One wonders if the Frontier Constabulary (FC) deployed in Balochistan is above the law of the state. At least the demeanour of the FC speaks of its haughtiness. It is shocking to note that the Inspector General (IG) of the FC Obaidullah Khattak did not comply with the orders of the Supreme Court (SC) to appear in person and explain the position of the FC on the missing persons’ case until repeated notices. His act is tantamount to ridiculing the court and is a breach of the constitution. The hearing took place at the Quetta Registry of the SC on May 11.

After more than 60 years of its formation, Pakistan has entered the phase of mastering the strategy of abducting its citizens to ensure the state’s survival. If this is not decadence, what is? Instead of listening to the voice of citizens, the state is bent on muffling it, and strangulating the necks producing the voice. This attitude falls in the category of a welfare state or a state calling itself an Islamic Republic? By the way, on non-compliance with the court orders, if the prime minister of this country can be convicted, why can’t the IG FC?

By his deed of disobedience, the IG FC tries to convince all that the concept of the state’s security is different from the notion of upholding the constitution. That is, he is serving in the khaki uniform to ensure the integrity of the state but not of the constitution. This is the problem with those donning the khaki uniform. The military deems itself a custodian of the integrity of the state but not of the constitution, which actually makes the military a type of the executive supposed to adhere to the court’s orders. What is the meaning of the statement of Major Sohail representing the FC at the court that the IG FC was busy elsewhere? Was he busy in abducting more people? The IG FC deliberately violated the court’s orders and should be held accountable for that.

The SC is also relying on the police to implement its orders. It is heartening to note that the DIG Operations Balochistan Police, Hamid Shakeel is ready to obey. He has informed the SC that the police possessed CCTV footage of a private hotel showing an FC vehicle picking up three persons who went missing afterwards. The statement of Hamid Shakeel indicates that the police are handicapped owing to the overbearing role of the FC, which needs be curtailed. Secondly, his point shows that the police are ready to obey the orders of the SC and are capable of maintaining law and order in Balochistan if given a free hand. The police, weaker at the core, can neither comply fully with the orders of the SC nor jettison the FC from the governance equation. If the SC is making the police answerable, it should also issue orders to strengthen the role of the police in Balochistan.

The SC has made an apt observation that the Centre is not taking any interest in resolving the Balochistan issue. There are three plausible reasons for that. First, the regime in the Centre is mired in issues of its own survival. Second, the regime in the Centre is annoyed with the SC and would be keen to witness a spate of confrontation taking place between the SC and the FC (or the military). Third, the Centre is reluctant to retrieve Balochistan from the military (which is being controlled through the FC) because the military wants to have its sway over the province.

As per the constitution, the FC should be at the beck and call of the chief minister of Balochistan but on the ground, the FC is independent in its actions and dictates its terms to him. Perceivably, the IG FC does not take orders from the chief minister of Balochistan but from GHQ. That is the paradox engulfing Balochistan. The same absurdity is a hindrance to an early resolution of the Balochistan crisis.

It seems that the military is not realising the fact that by its actions, it is being demeaned in society. The case of the missing Baloch is reverberating throughout the country. The sympathies of all Pakistanis are with the Baloch. In any developed country, by delivering good governance, the state makes itself noticeable in the sight of its citizens. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the state makes itself palpable through its coercive arms such as the FC in Balochistan. In this way, the state fails to project its soft image in the eyes of people. Despite the presence of a democratic dispensation at the Centre, Balochistan is still experiencing the problems characteristic of the military era.

Across the country, there is not a single Pakistani who does not sympathise with the Baloch and who does not criticise the highhandedness of the military in Balochistan. The Lahore High Court Bar is in the process of passing a resolution on Balochistan to express its solidarity with the Baloch and strengthen the hands of the SC in its decisions on Balochistan. Making the Baloch go missing is not a solution, the military should understand. The Balochistan crisis is in need of a dialogue. The military should leave space open for that. Gagging the media with one PEMRA Ordinance or another may keep the voice of the Baloch dissidents off the air but cannot solve the Balochistan problem.

What is missing in Pakistan is that the state does not understand its limits vis-à-vis the rights of people. The state cannot pick up a citizen and make him disappear, notwithstanding the nature of allegations. The citizens abducted by the state have to be produced before a court. The state is a creation of citizens and not vice versa. Thus, a state should stay subservient to its citizens and avoid dictating to them.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com