Pakistan: Extremism in Balochistan

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

Recent developments in Balochistan have brought a new set of problems to that already troubled province. For the last two years we have seen growing sectarian massacres and attempts to intimidate, in fact annihilate, the minority Hazara and other Shia communities in the province. Concurrently there has been a mushrooming in the activities of sectarian militias associated with banned or proscribed militant Sunni organisations. Often these are old organisations with a new face. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), through its public face the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), and other militant groups with the avowed aim of ethnically cleansing non-Sunni Muslims from Pakistan have in recent months staged several demonstrations in Balochistan, the largest in Quetta in March where speakers applauded scoring a 'century' when referring to the killing of over 100 Hazaras in two terrorist attacks. The radicalising trend has spawned a new group called the Islam Al-Quran, which has become a security threat to the education sector. Recent reports from the Makran areas of Turbat and Panjgur say that three weeks ago private schools received pamphlets telling them to stop co-education immediately or face violent consequences. Several private schools in the area have been attacked by ‘unknown persons’ since then. Several days ago a school van was intercepted by armed men in the Khudabadan area and after offloading the children and teachers, they set the van on fire, firing into the air all the while. Given the propensity to violence of these groups, the next attack may not be so ‘benevolent’.

The process of extremist radicalisation has other by-products. Bringing sectarian terror to the fore diminishes and distracts from the Baloch insurgency, which is a nationalist movement without any religious overlay. When seen in this context and with the track record of the establishment in creating and propping up jihadi proxies, there is a possibility that increasing the foothold of radical groups is a move to marginalise the Baloch nationalists in the province’s narrative. Of course such a move is likely to backfire, with horrific consequences for the whole country. Radicalisation and using religious fundamentalists as proxies has netted this country a surplus of violence, bloodshed, and the destruction of vital infrastructure. Nothing is more vital than schools since this country’s human capital is its greatest resource. Education, particularly modern education that teaches the value of human rights and analytical thinking, is a threat to those who aim for total control of the population and its potential. Ultimately the goal is nothing less than the eradication of the ability to question and the complete servitude of the many to a powerful few. The Taliban and other extremist groups aim to be at the top of the pyramid, and their handlers hope to be there with them. Threatening to destroy incipient nationalism using religious radicalisation will end up creating an extremist religious narrative that will roll over obstacles in its path. We have seen this happen in Afghanistan and in the tribal areas. It must not be allowed to happen in the rest of Pakistan too.