Pakistan - All parties Council on Balochistan

THE pledge by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif to convene an all-parties conference on Balochistan and the PPP`s willingness to join the APC are at least positive sentiments in the context of the longsuffering province. While violence in the province is down from the peak of the latest insurgency several years ago, the killings on both sides remain unacceptably high. On the Baloch side, the absence of Brahmdagh Bugti and Haribyar Marri from the country appears to have been more than compensated for by the rise of middle-class, educated, non-tribal insurgents like Dr Allah Nazar. The demand of the separatists, then, however small their numbers, continues to dominate the security landscape in Balochistan.

On the state`s side, the continuation of the socalled `kill and dump` policy in blunt terms, the extrajudicial execution of Baloch accused of direct or indirect involvement in the insurgency has meant that even though the Musharraf-era fullblown military operation is no longer in evidence, the mistrust of and anger towards the state felt by swathes of the Baloch population has not ebbed.

An APC in this difficult environment would appear to have few chances of success. But the support of the PML-N and the PPP at least brings to the table the combined strength ofPakistan`s two largest political parties and perhaps what is needed to bring the warring sides closer towards negotiations are powerful interlocutors.

Having said that, the APC will only be able to achieve anything of note if the full spectrum of the Baloch are represented there. Even if at this stage the attempt is only to hear the grievances of the mainstream Baloch nationalists, engaging the more militant separatists would be essential for a realistic road map to peace. To include the separatists though there is a crucial caveat in that it is not known if the separatists would respond to overtures from the PML-N, the PPP or the moderate Baloch parties would by no means imply an acceptance of their demand for an independent Balochistan. The territorial integrity of Pakistan cannot be up for any kind of negotiation.

However, the fact remains that the use of violence to suppress the fifth Baloch insurgency has been going on for at least seven years now and Balochistan still does not appear to be a province on the verge of returning to normality. A political solution is the only way to rescue Balochistan. Crush the separatists through the use of force and the state may eventually succeed in ending the fifth insurgency, but it would almost certainly set the stage for a sixth insurgency down the road.