Daily Times

The New York Times has reported that the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan at the hands of Pakistan’s security forces has been taken up in a US State Department report mandated by Congress. It is not surprising that this issue is finally catching international attention, because the culture of impunity in which the security forcers have wrapped themselves has been continuing for a long time now. Reports of arbitrary extra-judicial killings in anti-terrorism campaign in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also started emerging. Citing loopholes in the judicial system, the law enforcement agencies routinely round up people suspected of anti-state activities and keep them in illegal detention without a trace.

In Balochistan, there seems to be an unstated policy of eradicating the nationalists, which is being implemented by the Frontier Corps. Those ‘disappeared’ by the security forces are moderate nationalists who are struggling within the political and parliamentary system, not the actual insurgents involved in guerrilla warfare. If the argument is that there are links between the two, it is yet to be proved. In any case that still does not negate the argument for extending due legal process to such suspects. But, apparently, no effort is made to find evidence and torture and death is the only punishment considered suitable for dissidents. Nearly 80 tortured dead bodies of missing persons have been found at various locations in Balochistan over the past two months.

In Bush’s regime, the US allowed gross human rights abuses as shown by horrific reports emerging from Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Bagram, etc. Countries like Pakistan, US allies in the war against terror, followed suit. Since Obama’s arrival in office, the human rights abuses of suspected terrorists has not completely unravelled, but there has been some shift in the policy, as evident from the US’s notice of abuses by Pakistan’s security forces. It is not possible for Pakistan to get away with these violations of basic rights of citizens any longer without inviting international attention.

There is some realisation of these excesses domestically as well. On the occasion of the 104th Foundation Day of the Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif called for a political resolution of the Balochistan issue. He urged policy makers to learn from the past. Ironically, repeated references are being made to the tragic secession of East Pakistan in relation to the current situation in Balochistan. It seems Pakistan has not learnt from the past. If the powers that be do not stop this trend, this can result in a bigger disaster and will also isolate Pakistan internationally. *