Daily Times

The other day, while addressing the ceremony of Youm-e-Shuhada at the General Headquarters, the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani commented aptly that Pakistan’s national security would be strengthened further when a democratic system engendered, among other things, a balanced society, which offered equal opportunities of justice for all citizens.

The presence of General Kayani and his posture of neutrality have ensured the continuation of the democratic system and hence the formation of a society struggling for assuming a true balance — or at least a semblance of balance — between its do’s and don’ts. Nevertheless, it seems that General Kayani is oblivious of the fact that the consequent society may be offering equal opportunities of justice for all sans the Baloch. The question is why the Baloch are missing from the equation of equity and the answer is that the army through its extension called the Frontier Corps (FC) is ruling the roost in Balochistan. That is, in Balochistan, the injustice meted out to the Baloch and the presence of the FC are conjoined concepts.

Presently, not the ruling democratic dispensation but the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan is heeding the issues confronting the Baloch: missing persons, target killings and killings for ransom. The government of Balochistan is absent from the scene, understandably because it is not in command of the provincial affairs, related especially to governance. The provincial government has adopted a policy of evading questions asked by the SC to save its own skin. It is apparent that the SC also understands who holds sway over Balochistan’s affairs. The SC has been trying to spur the police into action to make it assert its legal right of action, maintain law and order and avoid playing into the hands of the FC or the intelligence agencies in picking up the Baloch who later go missing.

The question is to what extent the SC can push the police to reclaim its space and not let any other institution pouch on its preserve. The answer to this question rests with the central government. If the central government shows its will to rein in the FC, only then can the police find room to assert itself, otherwise not. The police cannot jostle the FC out of the equation of law and order or governance of the province. In this way, one dimension of the solution for the Balochistan problem lies with the Centre. The second dimension of the solution also is predicated on the response of the Centre — to engage the Baloch leaders (including those who are in exile) in a dialogue to settle the matter. In fact, the central government is faltering on both accounts. As the election year, 2013, is approaching fast, Baloch nationalist parties and leaders should be provided with all opportunities to make preparations for participating in the next general elections.

In 2007, the SC suffered on account of taking up the case of the missing persons. Now, by an irony of fate, the SC is again dealing with the same issue, willingly or unwillingly, thereby indicating that the issue of the missing persons is of perennial nature and that the SC cannot do away with it except/without resolving it.

Both in 2007 and now, people deem the SC the only institution that listens to their concerns and makes them feel like citizens of Pakistan; otherwise, the faith of people in the state stands eroded. The SC cannot avoid delivering justice to people including the Baloch. The difference between 2007 and 2012 is that now no institution of the state can dare challenge the SC on any issue, including the sensitive issue of the missing persons. All have to submit to the SC, whether this one or that one.

It seems that the Pakistani state resorts overwhelmingly to making persons missing as a strategy to ensure the state’s security and longevity. On the other hand, people are losing faith in the state machinery meant for their protection. The SC is an interpreter of the constitution and if it is interpreting the constitution for the missing persons, why does the state apparatus not understand this point — be it the FC or the intelligence agencies? Further, the SC is bent on making society balanced. The FC and intelligence agencies should comply with the orders of the SC.

The wound of Balochistan is still festering and has been inviting the attention of all Pakistanis. To condemn US Congressman Rohrabacher for presenting a resolution on February 8 this year on the human rights situation in Balochistan in the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs, all and sundry cried hoarse against Rohrabacher to prove their loyalty to Pakistan. Unfortunately, little has been done so far to resolve the Balochistan issue. That is the apathy Pakistan is afflicted with and that is why the internal issues of Pakistan echo elsewhere.

The act of the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA’s) Executive Committee to hold a three-day meeting in Quetta to express solidarity with the Baloch is also a good omen. The SCBA has constituted a free legal aid committee consisting of five senior lawyers to contest the Baloch missing persons’ cases in the courts. The SCBA will also hold a seminar on Balochistan on May 26 in Islamabad, which would be attended by senior Baloch politicians. The recommendations of the seminar would be sent to the government and media. What is missing is the role of the provincial bars. They should also strengthen the hands of the SC.

The post-2001 Pakistan is a Pakistan of bunkers and barricades. The vast supply of cement, sand and water has ensured the security of the security personnel, both civil and military. In this new Pakistan, if General Kayani has finally spoken of the connection between national security and justice for all citizens, his words should be gilded. In his words, there is hidden a hope that the missing Baloch will be given a due chance of proving their innocence in a court of law.

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