The electoral process has not functionally started due to the huge reservations and sense of insecurity in Balochistan. It seems that 3,336,650 million voters, who are supposed to vote on May 11, 2013 for 300 candidates for the National Assembly and 941 for the provincial Assembly, may only partially be part of the voting. Intimidation from militant groups, their attacks on election candidates and a boycott by the pro-freedom nationalist parties envisage an absence of peaceful elections and a limited turnout in Balochistan.
There are different factors that make a nonviolent election a question mark in Balochistan. These are not just concerns; the ground realities ratify that the upcoming polls can be badly affected in Balochistan. The European Union (EU) has decided not to send election observers to Balochistan due to the law and order situation. The Baloch armed groups have not only called for a boycott of the elections but have also threatened to attack polling stations, campaign rallies and officials performing election duties.
The recent attack on Nawab Sanullah Zehri, the provincial head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, on the campaign trail was the result of a remote-controlled device being detonated. As a result, four people including Zehri’s son Sikandar Zehri, brother Meer-ul-Allah Zehri and nephew Meer Zaib Zehri were killed and as many as 25 others were injured. Zehri was reportedly unhurt in the blast. The Baloch Libration Army (BLA) claimed responsibility, reiterating their earlier threat warning people not to be part of the election, or the candidates would be hit. The attack on the tribal figure Zehri has caused great fear among the common citizens of Balochistan.
Prior to this, the militant groups the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), BLA, Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and other armed and banned groups who are struggling for an independent Balochistan have threatened not only the election candidates but also appealed to the public to stay away from the polls on May 11. The armed groups have been continuously attacking the offices of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). On March 12, 2013, militants of the BLA gunned down Muhammad Ziaullah Qasimi, district commissioner of the ECP in Quetta. It is even more dangerous that they are attacking the election campaign offices of different political parties.
The Baloch National Front (BNF) is the coalition of the Baloch pro-freedom nationalist parties and it is known for its hardline stance against parliamentary politics in Balochistan. The BNF has called for a weeklong shutter-down and wheel-jam strike, May 5-11, 2013 to disrupt the upcoming election. This call will, no doubt, affect election activities in all Baloch districts. As the ECP has declared 15 districts of Balochistan sensitive due to the law and order situation, on the eve of the election, apart from the strike, the BNF has also decided to continue boycotting the news channels.
The cold war between candidates and tribal chiefs, for instance, Mir Zafar Zehri and Mir Shafiq Mengal has increased the sense of insecurity. Because the people of Balochistan have witnessed and gone through the statements both the candidates released against each other in the media blaming each other for being supporters of the BLA and the mercenary death squads, this issue can affect the environment in their constituency and terrify inhabitants to deter them from casting their votes.
According to the decision of the ECP, this time the candidates are also not allowed to provide transportation to their voters to the poll stations, and it is obvious in response to the threats and strikes, no one will voluntarily vote to die. It seems people are disillusioned with the corrupt politicians and they may not be in any mood to vote for the previously tried ones. People may go to the polls in the Pashtun areas of Balochistan, but 24 districts of Balochistan are in a precarious situation.
Still there is no guarantee of the security of the common communities and election candidates because the attacks on the tribal leaders and political figures in Balochistan by militant groups make the holding of the upcoming election uncertain. One can predict that if such figures are assaulted then there are possibilities of attacks on other candidates to terrify people and keep them away from the polls. It is not a question of whether the election will be fair or not but the question in Balochistan is whether the election there will be peaceful or not, or will the people go to cast their votes? As Balochistan has been confronting a law and order situation and human rights abuses, in this situation when the state’s own supporters are not protected, how will the common people be safe to vote?
The writer is a Baloch author and human rights activist. Currently, he is a sub-editor at the monthly Bolan Voice, Quetta and contributes to The Baloch Hal