Foreign Connections in Baluchistan

Abdul Hayee Baloch

While Pakistan has taken some meaningful steps to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice, India is using Afghanistan's territory to launch attacks in Baluchistan leading to further balkanize Pakistan. In the 1971 war, India discreetly used the unrest in East Pakistan against Pakistan to its fullest advantage leading to the creation of Bangladesh on the world map. Today, India is supporting a most difficult drive of using Baluch insurgency against Pakistan. Pakistan has given proofs of Indian involvement in exacerbating the turmoil in Baluchistan via Afghanistan but India is unlikely to ever accept such a charge. Although, it is true that India does not share border with Baluchistan but India can not remain oblivious from its meddling through hundreds of RAW operatives & Indian regular troops prowling in Afghanistan bordering Baluchistan. RAND scholar Christine Fair, a leading American expert on South Asia disclosed in an objective analysis carried by 'American journal Foreign Affairs' has validated Pakistan's legitimate claim about India's involvement in fanning unrest in Baluchistan. She further contended that "Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity. Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the other consulates it has reopened in Jalalabad and Kandahar along the border".

There is a long list of overt as well as covert evidences available with the Pakistan Government about the complicity of few angry tribal chieftains/BLA with India in fomenting trouble in Baluchistan. The statement of Brahamdagh Bugti, grandson of late Akbar Bugti, was very alarming when he revealed that he would accept any "moral help and material support" from India to create mayhem in Baluchistan. During an interview on Dunya TV telecast on July 4, 2009, the Baluch rebel leader Hyrbiyar Marri has revealed that "American enslavement is better than Punjabi enslavement because the Punjabis will come and occupy our lands for good. The Americans will only steal our oil and gas, whilst the Punjabis will obliterate our national identity". US under secretary of state for political affairs, William Burns gave Indian officials a terse directive to "shut down Indian Consulates in Afghanistan, reduce presence in Kabul and stop sending mercenaries across the Durand Line". There is strong evidence of Indian support in planning, commissioning and preparing acts of terrorism in Baluchistan through setting up of 26 centres of terrorism (consulates) along the western border in Afghanistan. Reliable sources have revealed that explosives were brought in by Indian Border Roads Organization (BRO) under the garb of "reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts" in Afghanistan through Iran to be used for sabotage acts against Baluchistan. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik disclosed that some 200 Baluch youths who were allegedly disappeared in Baluchistan, have been traced. It was very distressing that most of these persons had crossed border and were being trained by the Indian RAW operatives in Afghanistan. There is robust possibility of Indian involvement in the killing of three Baluch nationalist leaders that triggered widespread on-going riots in Baluchistan. This tactical manoeuvre yielded following multiple anti-Pakistan purposes: (1) Proving Pakistan's security apparatus guilty of killing in the eyes of Baluch people. (2) Thwarting the possibility of reconciliation efforts between the Government and the angry nationalist leaders, by killing Ghulam Muhammad Baluch - a man who was responsible of playing a major role in the release of John Solecki, chief of the UN Human Rights Commission in Baluchistan.

It is true that past governments were responsible for the present situation in Baluchistan and India is just exploiting the bad situation. Ever since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the greatest offense of our every successive government has been that they have never tried to improve & develop the economic and political conditions in Baluchistan despite repeated promises from each one of them. Baluchistan remains the most neglected province and 88 per cent of its population lives in subhuman conditions. The fresh imbroglio surfaced when the Centre launched fast track developmental projects aimed to bring the area into socio-economic mainstream. It became sore in the eyes of Indian strategists who wanted to extent their zone of influence in the Central Republics to lay a hand on its enormous natural wealth. India is trying to locate markets due to constant pressure from an ever growing population and increased urbanization. In order to capture the market, India wanted to stop Pakistan from becoming a hub of economic activity by: (1) Exploiting the theme, "the construction of Gwadar Deep Seaport in Baluchistan will turn Baluch into a minority". (2) Cultivating in the minds of the Baluch nationalists that China intends to occupy their natural resources. (3) Widely publicizing incidents of Human rights violation in Baluchistan by highlighting the so-called miseries of Balochis, like disappearances, political victimization, displacement due to military operations, etc. (4) Generating suspicions in ethnic Balochis that Islamabad wants to possess the riches of Baluchistan.

Some of the grievances projected by Baluch nationalists are: - provincial autonomy, detention of political workers, bigger share in NFC, special quota in federal jobs, enhanced royalty for natural gas, increasing military intrusion, gradual attrition of Baluch identity with influx of outsiders, undertaking of "anti Baluch" mega projects like Gwadar port without reference to their consensus. In order to foil the Indian conspiracy of destabilizing Pakistan, it is important to remove the mistrust between the Baluch and the Federation by adopting Confidence Building Measures. Political, social and economic disputes need to be addressed through a policy of reconciliation and mutual accommodation. The meaningful dialogue process with all the stakeholders will bring perpetual peace in the province. The All Party Conference (APC) or grand jirga be convened at the earliest so that people should remain alive to the situation and make independent policy decision in the best interest of Pakistan.

India is under is undergoing social and economic revolutions that is capturing the best minds-and money-of Western business. This is decreasing due to constant pressure from an ever growing population and increased urbanization.