Daily Times

One wonders why there was a hullabaloo in the National Assembly (NA) on the arrival of a six-member Working Group of the UN on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on September 9, 2012. Did the visit of the UN delegation injure the patriotism of our parliamentarians? If yes, what about the kill-and-dump policy being practised in Balochistan and how many times have the parliamentarians agitated on that? Has the NA been able to discontinue that policy? Why are no such patriotic feelings hurt when mutilated dead bodies surface in Balochistan?

To bask in a false sense of patriotism and observe silence on the injustices meted out to the Baloch is a grave crime not only against the federation of Pakistan but also against humanity. Apparently, the Pakistani version of patriotism is to oppose the arrival of the UN delegation on enforced disappearances but not to evaluate the reasons for unrest in Balochistan.

In its 10-day mission, the UN delegation is to appraise the efficacy of measures adopted by Pakistan to ‘prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances and issues related to truth, justice and reparation for the victims’. In this mandate, many quarters must have uttered a sigh of relief that the delegation is not here to probe into enforced disappearances, recover the missing persons alive, and lay blame on someone. Nevertheless, the report of the UN delegation (which will be published in 2013) may act as a preamble to the next inquiry conducted under the auspices of the UN. Pakistan has receded to such a point of shame!

The efficacy of the measures undertaken is a secondary issue; it is not known to Pakistanis what preventive measures the government has put in place to discourage enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Similarly, Pakistanis do not know what measures are being adopted by the government to eradicate the tendency of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Nevertheless, it is known that the government is handicapped in reining in the intelligence agencies. Similarly, it is known that the Frontier Corps (FC) functional in Balochistan is answerable to none except the military high command. The IG FC chooses not to appear before the Supreme Court and even does not bother to meet the UN delegation by extending one excuse or another. If his hands are clean, he should welcome any summons from the court and any delegation from the UN.

Frequent martial laws are the bane of the democratic system of Pakistan. Frequent military operations in Balochistan are the bane of federalism. Symptoms abound indicating that Balochistan is not recovering from the morass it was thrown into. The era of General Pervez Musharraf put the last nail in the coffin of alienation of the Baloch from Pakistan. Instead of handling the situation adroitly, Musharraf inflicted atrocities on the Baloch. The killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in fact ruined the prospects of peace in Balochistan. If someone could tell Musharraf what an act of injustice he did to Pakistanis. The Baloch now hate the non-Baloch and ethnic nationalism has gripped Baloch society. Never before (the year 2000) had Pakistan witnessed such a sense of estrangement in the Baloch. If the hands of Musharraf are clean, why is he an absconder? He should present himself before the Balochistan High Court, face a trial and get his name cleared from the allegation of the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

The media (both electronic and print) is instrumental in criticising the visit of the UN delegation by deeming it interference in the internal matters of Pakistan. The question is, can the media visit Balochistan and report from the ‘no-go area’ of Dera Bugti? To anchor a TV talk show from Islamabad is one thing and to report from Balochistan is entirely a different thing. Similarly, to be a toady of the military establishment and write columns is one thing and to give a voice to the pains of the Baloch is utterly a different proposition. Does any anchorperson or columnist have the courage to speak and write the truth for the Baloch?

In the current scenario, only the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has been trying to listen to the grievances of the relatives of the missing Baloch and trying to address the matter. Nevertheless, it was expected of Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal, who is heading a judicial commission on the missing persons, to work objectively but he seems to have been swayed by the forged narrative of ‘all is well in Balochistan’. If Justice Javed stands in cahoots with the military establishment and narrates the version of the intelligence agencies, what was the purpose of instituting the commission? Justice Javed is doing no service to the task assigned to him.

The issue of the missing Baloch is serious because it is promoting ethnic discontent in Pakistan. In a way, the issue is a product of policy failure. Instead of diluting the borders between different ethnic identities and instead of cementing ties between provinces and the Centre, the policy of enforced disappearances has actuated polarisation. In principle, after more than sixty years of Pakistan’s existence, the inter-ethnic and inter-provincial bonds should be voluntary. However, owing to the use of force, in place of dialogue and political reconciliation, the forces of ethnic and provincial discontent are strengthening. The blame for this phenomenon lies on both the military establishment and the civilian administration (including parliamentarians). Hence, the agitation of parliamentarians on the arrival of the UN delegation does not make sense. Instead, they should have condemned the policy of the military to handle Balochistan.

Has Pakistan degenerated to the extent that it is ensuring its existence by making its citizens missing? If yes, it means that inter-ethnic and inter-provincial bonds have turned involuntary in nature. If such is the case, it means that Pakistan is making a last ditch effort for its survival.

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