It is unlikely that state’s efforts to quell political activity in Baluchistan improve the situation, and instead they can obtain more issues. After the authorities placed obstacles on the path of the ‘Long March’ of BNP-M, the party of Akhtar Mengal warned that it will march today in Quetta.
Baloch’s leader had originally launched a long march from WADH to the provincial capital on March 28, asking for the release of Mahrang Baloch and other detained activists.
However, unable to reach Quetta due to the obstructions placed by the State, the party transformed the procession into a sitting of protest. Negotiations with the State have not finished the dead point, although the provincial government spokesman said on Saturday that BNP-M could leave Quetta, but not to the red zone.
In a related movement, the provincial head of the JWP has also been arrested. Meanwhile, political parties in Baluchistan have asked the State to lift the restrictions on political activities in the province.
The peaceful protest is the democratic right of all citizens, and the State should not be creating obstacles in the exercise of this right. In the context of Baluchistan, where political expression has been severely reduced, the need to protect this right is even greater. Instead of trying to stop protests, the government should reflect on why the people of Baluchistan have taken to the streets.
The demands of Akhtar Mengal to free women activists should be seriously considered. What is needed in Baluchistan is sagacity and vision, not the colonial style methods that have been used during the last decades, which have not been able to address the situation in the province or neutralize the insurgency. Political activity should not be equated with “political opportunism”, and the State needs to make a clear distinction between terrorists and peaceful political activists.
Defending the right to meet and express yourself is not the same as expressing sympathy with terrorists. If the State closes all the ways of political expression, then it is likely that the Baluchistan disaffection volcano explodes with an even greater ferocity. That is why Akhtar Mengal and other nationalists and moderate activists of rights must be committed and heard.
The militarized approach can bring a temporary silence to Baluchistan, but will not address the long -standing complaints that militants take the opportunity to feed the insurgency. The State, therefore, must handle the situation with wisdom.
Posted in Dawn, April 6, 2025
