BALOCHISTAN: Relief Delayed, Denied and Denounced

The Baloch Hal

BY: MALIK SIRAJ AKBAR

The relief operations in Awaran are continuously experiencing a set-back because of the unwillingness of the Frontier Corps (F.C.) and the Baloch Liberation Front (B.L.F.) to cooperate with each other. While the F.C. insists that all assistance among the earthquake survivors, including what is coming from the non-governmental organizations, should be distributed through its channels, the nationalists, on their part, have clearly stated that they would not allow the Pakistan army to take control of any kind of relief distribution. The nationalists believe that the army would not only take the earthquake as an opportunity to increase its deployment in Awaran but it will also make an effort to ‘Pakistanize’ the local population by using the relief goods as an instrument of bribe. The B.L.F. has repeatedly called upon international organizations to operate in Balochistan but they refuse to offer similar assurances to the Pakistan Army and the F.C. The nationalists have somewhat emotionally blackmailed the local population asking them whether or not it was ethical to accept help from one’s enemy (the Pakistan army). The nationalists are imparting and inculcating lessons of self-respect/reliance, national honor, bravery and patriotism (toward the Baloch land) in an effort to convince the people that assistance coming from Pakistan is not worth submission to ‘occupying forces’. The people have begun to succumb to the nationalist approach and refused the army, F.C. assistance. A female survivor of the earthquake told the BBC News that Awaran was “Balochistan not Pakistan.” Another BBC reporter, while commenting on the response of the rest of Pakistan to the Balochistan earthquake, also observed that it seemed that Balochistan was totally disconnected from Pakistan. In a way, the nationalists have cashed public sentiments at a time when people urgently needed to be rescued from the remains of their homes soon after the earthquake. This was not sensible politics. For political reasons, a number of nationalist leaders have said they would accept assistance from anyone, including the ‘devil’, to get rid of Pakistan. One wonders then why they felt it was bad to accept assistance from the devil (read Islamabad) this time to save some precious human lives. Hence, the B.L.F. continues to disrupt relief operations that are spearheaded by the army. It has also snubbed Chief Minister Dr. Malik Baloch’s call for cooperation. In its worst attack on Wednesday, the B.L.F. killed two soldiers in a landmine blast in Mashky area of Awaran district. Having said that, the Pakistani media are only highlighting one side of the picture which discusses the attacks on the relief workers. But there is also insufficient reporting about the government’s own failure in arriving in the affected areas on time and begin timely relief operations. The army and the F.C., according to some analysts, are the root cause of escalation of tensions in Balochistan. Sending them to Balochistan after the earthquake, as noted by veteran journalist Rashed Rahman, amounts to adding salt to the Baloch injuries. Now that the rescue works have almost ended and the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase is commencing, the role of the F.C. and the army should be drastically minimized. The government should enhance the capacity of civilian institutions, such as the National/ Provincial Disaster Management Authority to professionally grapple with the post-disaster situations. The federal and the provincial governments are not on the same page on the issue of international assistance. The Chief Minister, Malik Baloch, says there is a need for international support but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has requested the masses to generously donate for the earthquake victims under a domestic relief fund. As a matter of fact, the Chief Minister is trying to please both sides i.e. the F.C. and the Baloch nationalists. On the one hand, he has emphasized the indispensability of F.C. in post-earthquake situation and, on the other hand, he has also echoed nationalist’s demand for international relief operations. The overall progress over recovery and normalization is extremely slow in Awaran. Reiterating our earlier recommendation for a ceasefire, we would once again urge the government and the nationalists to prioritize public needs over politics. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take notice of increasing complaints against the F.C. and ensure the distribution of relief through civilian institutions. In addition, the government should immediately end the closure of Balochistan’s borders for international media and aid groups. Above all, Islamabad should stop treating Balochistan as an inaccessible colony. The government should respect the people who live there and address their pressing issues instead of treating the Baloch like untouchable animals. The people of Balochistan should be treated with respect as equal citizens and their civil rights should be protected. Once the government provides the international community access to Balochistan, the next immediate step should be to convene a donors’ conference to collect financial assistance for the reconstruction phase. While the earthquake was a nature disaster, the government’s failure to rehabilitate the Baloch will still have dire political consequences in the future. The government’s shortcomings will instinctively translate into support for the insurgent groups.