EDITORIAL:

A Federal Ministry of Interior notification issued on Sunday in exercise of its powers under Section 11(b) of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 has banned the Baloch Liberation Army, a group that has claimed responsibility for various acts of sabotage in Balochistan, and declared it a terrorist outfit. The notification, reports say, has been referred to the provincial government in order for it to take action against the BLA on its basis. Earlier, in a move towards this decision, the government cancelled arms licences issued to some Baloch nationalist leaders. Justifying the move, the interior ministry said it has evidence of the BLA’s involvement in rocket and other armed attacks on national installations, the civilian population and security forces. Meanwhile, in an ironic twist, the Balochistan home minister, Shoeb Nausherwani, says no organisation named the Baloch Liberation Army exists. He said that some four to five thousand people have been using the name of the BLA as “an excuse for anti-state activities” but lack the structure and planning of a proper organisation. “These people are paid Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 monthly by local and foreign elements to trouble the administration.” The government also says it will move to oust MPA Balach Marri from the provincial assembly because he is one of the leaders of the BLA.

All this is most intriguing. Why would the government declare the BLA a terrorist organisation? This is what the interior secretary, Syed Kamal Shah, told this newspaper: “Anyone associated with the BLA or supporting its terrorist activities will be tried under the Anti-Terrorist Act.” This is significant and it signals that the government may be planning a crackdown in Balochistan in the near future. Mr Shah says that while no senior BLA leader has been caught as yet, several small-level operatives were in custody and they had confessed to planning and executing acts of sabotage.

The decision also allows the government to seal all BLA offices and freeze its bank accounts. This is again significant considering that the provincial home minister does not even accept that any organisation by this name exists, albeit he has admitted that some four to five thousand people might be creating a law and order situation.

Could it be that these people are actually active supporters of the three sardars who have fallen foul of Islamabad? This is where the issue of the identity of the BLA becomes so important. Does such an organisation really exist? Granted that “BLA spokesmen” have been all too keen to take responsibility for various acts of sabotage; granted also that they send press releases to the media and there have been reports in various newspapers and magazines of armed Baloch posing as BLA members. Yet we do need to know whether this is a real thing with a proper structure, organisation, goals and objectives or whether this shadowy outfit is a ragtag bunch of Baloch nationalists whose sole purpose is to be in the employ of Baloch sardars and trouble the government on their behalf.

A possible giveaway could be the fact that the government can now seal the offices of the BLA and freeze its bank accounts. What does this mean? Surely, the BLA does not operate from known locations; neither is it likely to have bank accounts, or at least accounts that can be discovered. On the other hand, Baloch nationalist parties do have overt locations and known accounts. What if the interior ministry or some intelligence agency should find some dubious “connection” between a known nationalist party and this shadowy BLA? Will it freeze the accounts of the party and seal its offices? Is this a prelude to this sort of a crackdown in the province in the near future?

Possibly. As a matter of fact Mr Shah told the media on Sunday that Balach Marri, the son of Nawab Khair Baksh Marri — one of the rebel sardars — heads the BLA. This means not only that Mr Marri can now be arrested and tried under the ATA in his absence but that he stands to lose his seat in the Balochistan Assembly. The move is, therefore, geared towards putting the squeeze on the sardars who remain recalcitrant and who the government thinks are goading the youth into acts of sabotage and subversion. The BLA comes in handy because it is difficult to crack down on nationalist parties with representation in the legislatures but it is easier to ban them if they are found involved with the “BLA”.

This is not a smart move. It is not backed and supplemented by a political process. The sub-committee headed by Senator Wasim Sajjad has still to finalise and present its report on the power-sharing formula. It is all very good to put down a couple of anti-government sardars and induct other pro-government sardars into the province and do some development work — all in tandem — in order to tame the province. But surely development and participation is not about “taming” any province. It is about participation in and profit from an equitable distribution of the fruits of development. It is about removing the sense of deprivation and inequity that envelops the province. Banning this or that will simply not do. Remember how the NAP was banned by ZA Bhutto on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the mid-1970s as an “anti-Pakistan” party? Did it stop the same nationalists of the NAP from banding together under the ANP? Didn’t the ANP then go on to win seats in parliament? Indeed, didn’t the subsequent military government of Zia Ul Haq actually give a certificate of patriotism to the ANP and all the jailed nationalist “anti-Pakistan” elements and release them from prison unconditionally and withdraw all the cases against them?

This is a bureaucratic measure that will be used to repress the sentiments of those — misguided or not — who want greater rights for their province. It will not solve anything. A statement by Sheikh Rashid yesterday to the effect that there will be no talks with Sardar Bugti and that the army operation will “sort out” the trouble makers confirms this diagnosis. Dailytimes.com 11.4.06