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Pakistan: The Forgotten
Conflict in Balochistan
Islamabad/Brussels, 22 October 2007: The insurgency in Balochistan
province will only subside when free, fair and transparent elections
establish a legitimate government to replace Pakistan’s current military
dictatorship.
Pakistan:
The
Forgotten Conflict in Balochistan,* the latest report from the
International Crisis Group, examines the tensions across the strategically
important and resource-rich province, where violence continues unabated
between the military government and militants demanding political and
economic autonomy. It urges the federal government to return power to
democratic institutions in order to stem growing Baloch alienation and
regional instability.
“The military relies on repression, killings, imprisonment, disappearances
and torture to bend the Baloch to its will”, says Robert Templer, Director
of the Asia Program. “That only feeds the insurgency”.
Relying on divide-and-rule policies, the military supports Pashtun
Islamist parties like the JUI-F, a key patron of the Afghan Taliban, in a
bid to counter secular Baloch and moderate Pashtun forces. Using
Balochistan as a base of operation and sanctuary and recruiting from JUI’s
extensive madrasa network, the Taliban and its Pakistani allies are
undermining the state-building effort in Afghanistan. At the same time,
U.S. and other Western support for Musharraf is alienating the Baloch, who
otherwise could be natural partners in countering extremism in Pakistan.
The federal government needs to restore a democratic election process for
national and provincial governments and allow representative and
participatory institutions. It should cease all military operations,
release all political prisoners, including those in the unlawful custody
of intelligence agencies, and accept the Supreme Court’s directive to end
the disappearances of political opponents. It should immediately produce
those charged with criminal offences before competent civilian courts,
which should be responsible for any trials, and drop terrorism charges
against Balochistan National Party leader Akthar Mengal, transfer his
kidnapping trial to a sessions court and release him on bail.
The government should also ensure freedom of speech, movement, association
and assembly and remove all restrictions on Baloch nationalist parties.
“The staunchly anti-Taliban and secular Baloch believe the international
community has yet to understand the threat the military’s Islamist allies
pose, domestically and externally”, says Samina Ahmed, South Asia Project
Director. “The restoration of participatory democratic institutions
willing to accommodate the legitimate political demands of the Baloch
would assuage dissent and restore trust in constitutionalism and rule of
law”.
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Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635
Giulia Previti (Washington) +1 202 785 1601
To contact Crisis Group media please
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*Read the full Crisis Group briefing on our website:
http://www.crisisgroup.org
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