CSS Current Affairs | Possibilities to Establish a Writ of Law in Balochistan
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Outline
1-Introduction
2- A furtive glance at the current situation in Balochistan
3- Why is it impossible to establish a writ of law in Balochistan?
- ✓Increasing involvement of non-state actors
- Evidence: According to the Institute of Conflict and Strategic Studies, there is a liaison between RAW, BLA, BLF, and IJK, the Islamic State of Khurasan, and they launched attacks in Balochistan.
- ✓Permeable border of Balochistan with Afghanistan and Iran
- Evidence: The recent attack in Noshki on nine men from Punjab shows the use of Iranian soil for the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan.
- ✓Interference of foreign agencies in Balochistan
- Evidence: In July 2023, an attack on Zhob Garrison was launched by liaisoning these foreign agencies with separatist groups of Balochistan.
- ✓Rising processions and rights movements in Balochistan
- Evidence: As of the Commission on Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Report 2023, there are 454 active cases of missing persons from Balochistan.
4– How can the situation be changed and laws and order established in Balochistan?
- ✓By devising a comprehensive plan of action on dealing with separatist groups and implementation of the plan
- ✓By resolving the issue of missing persons in Balochistan
5-Critical Analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
1-Introduction
Balochistan, often called as the land of Baloch, is the geopolitically significant province of Pakistan. Undoubtedly, the province holds paramount significance owing to the presence of the greatest investment area, Gwadar, in which the highest China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is in progress. However, despite being blessed with abundant resources and hosting CPEC, a flagship project, the peace and prosperity in Balochistan is in shambles. The province has been in a continuous struggle to maintain security, changing it into a garrison state. It is evident from the fact that Balochistan invests Rs. 55 billion annually in security, but it has failed to establish peace and improve security in the province. The major challenge to security is the involvement of non-state actors in the land of Balochistan. Furthermore, rising separatist groups and increasing insurgencies have hampered provincial peace, where every day that dawns ends with increasing insurgencies, turning Balochistan into a security state. Thus, these factors emphasize that maintaining law and order is a distant dream unless non-state actors and separatist movements are on the rise in Balochistan. Nonetheless, as every dark has some bright side, law and order can only be maintained in Baluchistan if practical steps are taken in the province. This question highlights the prominent that make it possible to establish law and order in Balochistan.
2-Understanding
Starting with casting a cursory glance at the current situation in Balochistan, Balochistan constitutes 43% of the land area and 6% of Pakistan’s population. Instead of having a major land area, the condition of Balochistan is worse than all other provinces of Pakistan. However, it is noteworthy to mention that the current situation is just a tipping point as the Balochistan conundrum has its roots entrenched in the independence of Pakistan. Prior to independence, Balochistan, named as a state of Kalat, was ruled by Ahmad Yar Khan, who acceded Kalat to Pakistan. After independence, an era of insurgencies was started by Baloch nationals in successive years of 1948, 1958,1962, and 1973; however, insurgencies gained prominence in the Musharraf era with the killing of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch national, in 2006. Since then, the condition in Balochistan has been chaotic, leading to increasing insurgencies by separatist groups, namely the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF). Nonetheless, in the recent year, 2023, the militant activities have touched the tipping point when BLA and BLF ended up launching 14 attacks in Ketch, 10 attacks in Panjir, and six attacks in Gwadar. All in all, Balochistan is struggling to maintain peace and security for the separatist groups, and non-state actors have hampered the security of the province.
3- Why is it impossible to establish a writ of law in Balochistan?
- ✓Increasing involvement of non-state actors
Having discussed the current scenario prevailing in Balochistan, it is time to bring to light the causes that make it impossible to maintain the writ of law and order in Balochistan. The most pressing cause is the involvement of Baloch national groups, BLA, non-state actors, RAW, and religious extremist Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). These groups have launched multiple attacks in the different areas of Balochistan and disrupted peace in the region. According to the Institute of Conflict and Strategic Studies, there is a liaison between RAW, BLA, BLF, and IJK, the Islamic State of Khurasan, and they launched an attack in the region. It is evident that the strong liaison between these different actors and their stronghold in the Balochistan area makes it a distant dream to maintain law and order in Balochistan. Hence, as long as these groups are strengthened in the region, law and order cannot be maintained.
- ✓Permeable border of Balochistan with Afghanistan and Iran
Furthermore, the porous border of Balochistan is a major hitch in the maintenance of law and order in Pakistan. Increasing smuggling from the porous border with Iran and Afghanistan has contributed to the increasing crime rate in Baluchistan. The recent attack in Noshki on nine men from Punjab shows the use of Iranian soil for the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan. Moreover, owing to the lack of availability of resources for sustaining life, people are forced to smuggle goods from Iran, eventually flooding the markets of Balochistan with Iranian goods. The porous border leads to the influx of insurgent groups and human trafficking. Hence, without keeping a proper check on cross-border movement and controlling human trafficking, maintaining the law seems quite impossible.
- ✓Interference of foreign agencies in Balochistan
Adding to this, the interference of various countries in Balochistan is another reason that prevents the law from being obeyed in Balochistan. These agencies, such as RAW of India, CIA of America, and Mossad of Israel, support rights movements in Balochistan and increase the momentum of the movements, ultimately giving rise to heightened insurgencies in Balochistan. Rising insurgencies in 2023 are a stark instance in this case. Taking an example, in July 2023, an attack on Zhob Garrison was launched by liaisoning these foreign agencies with separatist groups of Balochistan. However, the military was overpowered in this attack and killed all the terrorists involved. Though the secret agencies of Pakistan are making profound efforts to deal with the matter, the strategic detonation of bombs and the killing of the Baluch people is still a cry in the wilderness. Thus, unless foreign agencies operate in Balochistan and create a strong liaison, all attempts to establish the writ of law are futile.
- ✓Rising processions and rights movements in Balochistan
Moreover, rising processions and rights movements have made it difficult to maintain law and order. It is impossible to create harmony in the presence of an increasing number of separatist groups. Mounting demand for political rights and the cases of missing persons are the primary reasons for the protests. As of the Commission on Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Report 2023, there are as few as 454 active cases of missing persons from Balochistan. Contrarily, according to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), as many as 7000 people are missing from Balochistan. It clearly depicts that the major concerns of the Baloch people are not addressed, and they are in dire need to get justice delivered. Therefore, in such a situation when the core issue of missing persons is unaddressed, the dream of establishing the writ of law is like living in a fool’s paradise.
4- How can the situation be changed and laws and order established in Balochistan?
- ✓By devising a comprehensive plan of action on dealing with separatist groups and implementation of the plan
Nonetheless, there is always some hope that drives towards betterment, and Balochistan can also step out from a garrison state to a peaceful one by making the right decisions. For establishing the writ of law and order in Balochistan, some probable measures must be taken. First and foremost, cosmetic solutions are not needed to solve Balochistan’s intractable security issue. The government of Pakistan, in coordination with the Balochistan government, must formulate a viable plan of action to wipe out terrorist groups and foreign agencies operating in the province. Though the landscape of Balochistan contains hilly, rugged areas and exposure to limited areas of the Baluchistan are the major hurdles in the efficient working of the state, the proper plan of action and implementation can really make a huge difference. It is not a day or one-night task, but one step in the right direction will eventually lead towards a destination in the future.
- ✓By resolving the issue of missing persons in Balochistan
Moreover, resolving the issue of missing persons will be another step in the right direction. Every person who leaves the home has no security in his life, fearing whether he will come back or not and creating a state of uncertainty. Adding to it, the inefficiency in finding the missing persons and resolving the cases has added fuel to the fire, creating a trust deficit between civilians and the government, forcing civilians to join hands with the non-state actors and disrupting regional peace. Hence, addressing the issue of missing persons will phase shift the civilian support from non-state actors to state. Only then will it become a reality to establish law and order with the help of locals? Thus, to maintain peace in the region, it is the need of the hour to deal with the issue of missing persons with iron hands, ultimately fighting the devil of non-state actors and foreign agencies with local assistance as locals better know the landscape of their land, making it easy to trace the insurgent groups.
5-Critical Analysis
In the critical appraisal, Balochistan, being a garrison state, has been dealing with security issues for decades. Along with security concerns, scarcity of resource availability is a pertinent challenge that Baloch people are facing, forcing them to start protests in the province. Consequently, protests are held by people, which disrupt peace in Baluchistan. The Haq do Tahreek, Gwadar Rights Movement, initiated by Muhammad Hidayat Khan, is one such example, where the movement is aimed at reducing checkpoints and illegal deep-sea fish trawling in Gwadar. Despite being hosting a mega project, CPEC, the rights of the people are curtailed in Gwadar, creating a chaotic situation in the area. Likewise, being the province rich in natural resources and gas, Sui’s people are deprived of gas. Therefore, along with working on other problems to bring peace and prosperity, working on the provision of sufficient resources to Baluchis is direly needed.
6-Conclusion
To sum up, having a population of 12.3 million people, Balochistan is the geopolitically significant province of Pakistan. The province is grappling with multiple issues and facing a constant state of turmoil in the form of an uptick in insurgencies and an increase in the number of missing persons. The chaotic situation has made it impossible to establish the writ of law and order in the province as the insurgent groups, along with foreign secret agencies, have played a paramount role in curtailing the peace in the region. Therefore, if it is desirable to establish a rule of law, it is imperative to resolve the issue of rising insurgencies in the province. Otherwise, the situation in Balochistan will continue to get adverse, with a point of no return.
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