The group of Baloch people who embarked on a long march from Quetta to Islamabad on October 27 carrying the photos of missing relatives along with the names and dates of disappearance to seek their recovery reached the destination on February 28. Along the way in Sindh and Punjab many people joined the marchers within their cities and towns, and a large number of civil society activists welcomed the group at Faizabad; the main entry point into Islamabad demonstrating that people all over the country sympathised with their cause. Within Balochistan, parties across the political spectrum are at one with each other in demanding an end to enforced disappearances and what is called 'kill and dump policy'. Notably, the Human Rights Watch says more than 300 people have fallen victim to this policy since January 2011. To say the least, that is a black mark against collective conscience of this nation.
The federal government has been trying to resolve the issue through political dialogue, albeit without much success. Towards the end of January, the prime minister visited Quetta to preside over a special meeting of all stakeholders, including top military leadership, where it was decided to constitute a committee to initiate peace dialogue with the 'angry Baloch' youth. Briefing a Senate committee a few days later, however, the Balochistan FC chief put a question mark on the initiative as he railed against militants saying it is wrong to call them 'aggrieved Baloch' that they are terrorists. Some of this bitterness is understandable considering that the insurgents have not only been damaging gas pipelines and power supply system, they have also been killing people as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign and bombing trains. As the Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch - a self-admitted militant during a previous insurgency - noted in an interview, the insurgents in the past never killed people of other ethnicities. What is different this time is that outsiders, such as Kabul and Delhi governments, are backing the insurgents to settle their own scores or to destabilise this country by exploiting the Baloch sentiments. Reason therefore demands not an angry response but a cool-minded, well calculated policy of pacification.
The FC chief's rant notwithstanding, whether it is under political pressure or the apex court's insistence on production of the missing persons, there are some signs of improvement. The day the marchers arrived in Islamabad, Balochistan government spokesman Jan Mohammad Buledi, expressing the provincial government's concern over the issue, claimed having achieved success vis-a-vis the so-called 'kill and dump policy' saying, "in our time at least the dumping of mutilated bodies has stopped." But the agencies have yet to account for the missing persons. Those who arrived in Islamabad have made it known that they will not rest until they find out the whereabouts of their near and dear ones. Their leader, Mama Qadeer Baloch, said he had no hope of Pakistan government helping, and hence had decided to present a petition to UN officials in Islamabad so the international community applies pressure, adding that in the event of failure his people might march to Geneva. The best way to deal with this super sensitive issue would be to empower Balochistan's nationalist Chief Minister Dr Malik to come to a political settlement with the 'angry' Baloch.
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