Pakistan: Military, govt machinery locked in blame game

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The military and civilian security setups have been apparently locked in the blame game following stark security lapses in Quetta and Ziarat resulting in the loss of several lives. While the military-led paramilitary force Frontier Corps (FC) passes the buck on the district administrations concerned and the Balochistan government for the security failure to cause the three deadly attacks in the two districts, the military officials here support the FC's version, which is categorically denied by the governmental machinery on the grounds that the maintenance of security and law and order in the province is completely assigned to the FC. Talking to The Nation from Quetta, Jan Muhammad Buledi, spokesman to the Chief Minister Balochistan, said that the FC was primarily assigned the responsibility for maintaining security in Balochistan. "The maintenance of law and order mainly rests with the FC as well as the local police and other paramilitary forces and the security arrangements concerning the counterinsurgency drive are completely the FC's job." Asked if the FC was to be blamed for the major terrorist attacks, the spokesman said that an inquiry had been launched into the incidents and responsibility would be fixed in the light of the probe findings. "Nothing can be said as of now. At this point, our foremost priority is to crush the terrorists and get the hospital cleared of them. Once this is done, we'll find out who's to be blamed for the attacks and we'll proceed against the responsible elements accordingly," he said referring to the severe exchange of gunfire between the security forces and the militants at the Bolan Medical Complex (BMC) till Saturday evening. This was followed by bomb blasts. District Commissioner Quetta Abdul Mansoor along with others lost his life in the attack while senior government officials sustained serious injuries. On the other hand, the FC Spokesman Murtaza Baig appeared to have passed the buck on the provincial government as well as the civilian authorities concerned. He said that Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a Baloch nationalist militant outfit, had conducted the attacks in Ziarat and Quetta. "The FC is there to act in aid of the government on its directives. It's basically the government's job to use the paramilitary force where required," he said. Asked to comment on the view that the FC had the frontline role in the maintenance of law and order and security in Balochistan and the security lapses pointed to the paramilitary force's negligence, Baig said, "I don't want to get into any controversy or argument. As I said, the FC is there in aid of government. No more comments." Apparently following the FC's line, the military officials here also held the provincial government and the district administrations responsible for the attacks. About attack on Quaid's residency, they said, "There were no security persons deployed at the residency at the time of attack. The DC Ziarat is responsible for security and maintenance of the residency." The DC Ziarat Tahir Nadeem rejected this version. He said that FC was not under his administrative control. "It's the FC's job to deal with the militants. The paramilitary force is not under my control and I have no authority to call it in any given situation. I can only call the police, not FC to respond to any untoward situation. The FC has an extraordinary role in Balochistan. It's responsible for everything related to security here," he said, when approached. The military officials claimed that 50 FC personnel of Loralai Scouts rushed to Quaid-e-Azam residency site after Saturday attack in Ziarat, but only after the damage had been done. The miscreants during the pre-dawn hours of Saturday attacked the Quaid's residency with rockets, resulting in the destruction of the historical site and killing of a policeman. This was followed by two deadly attacks in Quetta at a university as well as a hospital. Reports suggested that over a dozen female students were killed in a bomb blast in Women University followed by an attack on BMC where the uninjured victims of the university attack were brought.