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FRESH AIR STRIKES IN BALOCHISTAN
by B. Raman
15. 06. 2006
Even six months after President General Pervez Musharraf ordered his Army
and the Air Force to suppress the freedom struggle launched by the Baloch
nationalist elements, the freedom struggle continues to gather strength
with no sign of any impact on the freedom-fighters despite the large-scale
use of heavy weapons and air strikes. Their motivation and determination
to achieve independence remain as strong as ever. There has been a steady
flow of volunteers to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other
groups carrying on the freedom struggle and the military operations have
not been able to disrupt the training of the new volunteers by these
organisations in the liberated pockets set up by them.
2. The ban imposed by the Army on the BLO has had no effect on it. On the
contrary, it has only further increased its popularity among the Baloch
people and demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the army and its inability
to have the ban enforced. The freedom-fighters have not been short of
funds and weapons. While the funds have been coming from the Baloch
diaspora abroad, the arms and ammunition have been seized by the
freedom-fighters from the stocks of the security forces during raids on
their posts.
3. In the face of international concern over the large number of civilian
casualties due to the military operations, the Pakistani military had
suspended the use of Air Force planes and helicopter gunships for a while.
Helicopters were used only for logistics purposes and not for strikes
directed against the freedom-fighters. But for the last few days, the use
of air strikes has been resumed and over eight helicopter gunships have
been going into action against the freedom-fighters resulting in many
casualties. Air strikes have been directed against not only the armed
freedom-fighters, but also against villagers suspected of assisting them.
While the air strikes have been taking place in many parts of the
province, they have been particularly concentrated in the areas inhabited
by the Bugti, Marri and Mengal tribes. The freedom-fighters have claimed
to have shot down two helicopters, but the shooting down of only one has
so far been confirmed.
4. There has been no change in the modus operandi of the freedom-fighters.
It continues to consist of attacks on the posts of the security forces,
ambushes of military convoys, attacks on gas pipelines and railway lines.
They have taken care to ensure that their operations do not cause civilian
casualties. The freedom-fighters have denied responsibility for an
explosion with an improvised explosive device outside a roadside tea stall
near Quetta on June 12, 2006, in which five bystanders were killed and 17
others injured. They have accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of
having organised this explosion with the help of people brought from
outside the province in order to discredit the freedom struggle.
5.The Army had moved in a large number of Balochs living in Punjab and
Sindh into the province and distributed to them the land vacated by the
members of the Bugti tribe who had run away from their places of residence
due to suppression by the Army. The Army was hoping that these re-settled
Balochs would help it in fighting against the freedom-fighters. Its hopes
have been belied. Many of the re-settled Balochs, who faced the hostility
of the local population, have run away to where they were brought from.
6. The anti-Chinese anger amongst the Balochs continues to be as strong as
ever, but the moves for a joint freedom struggle by the Balochs, the Shias
of Gilgit and Baltistan and the Uighurs of Xinjiang have not made much
headway so far, but the contacts are continuing. There are two groups of
Uighur militants. One group, like the Balochs, is fighting for
independence for the Uighur homeland. It is not pan-Islamic and does not
accept the ideology of Al Qaeda. Another group is pan-Islamic and has
accepted the leadership of Al Qaeda in the International Islamic Front
(IIF). The move is for co-operation between the Balochs and those Uighurs,
who are fighting for independence for their homeland, but do not accept
the pan-Islamic ideology of Al Qaeda.
7. Faced with increasing threats to their existing projects in Balochistan
such as the ones for the construction of the Gwadar port and the
development of the copper mines, the Chinese are reported to have
expressed their inability to help Pakistan in the construction of a
nuclear power station in Balochistan. During his present visit to China to
attend the summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, Gen.
Musharraf is expected to discuss with the Chinese a Pakistani request for
a Chinese-aided 600 MW nuclear power station at Karachi.
8. The Chinese continue to evince interest in the construction of a
pipeline from Gwadar to Xinjiang, a road linking Gwadar with the Karakoram
Highway and a huge oil refinery complex at Gwadar, which would partly meet
the requirements of Pakistan and Xinjiang. A proposal for the emergency
evacuation of the Chinese personnel working in Balochistan by sea should
the situation in the province deteriorate seriously is also under
discussion between the two countries. Though Gen. Musharraf has assured
the Chinese that such a situation is unlikely to arise, the Chinese
reportedly do not want to take risk and want to keep a drill for emergency
evacuation ready. The proposal is that Pakistani helicopters and ships
would be used for the evacuation, if it becomes necessary. There is at
present no proposal to station Chinese helicopters and ships for that
purpose. A team of Chinese naval and intelligence officers is reported to
have visited Islamabad, Karachi and Balochistan for discussions in this
regard.
9. It has been reported that the Baloch freedom-fighters are disappointed
that after its initial expression of concern over the military operations
against the freedom-fighters, the Government of India has not come out
with any other statement on the continuing suppression of the Balochs by
the Pakistani military establishment. The freedom-fighters have been
closely following the reports of the discussions involving India, Pakistan
and Iran on the construction of an Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. They
are determined not to allow this pipeline or any pipeline from
Turkmenistan to pass through their territory unless they are also involved
in the talks on the subject and part of the transit fee is paid to them.
Similarly, they are determined to oppose any pipeline to Xinjiang. The
Government of India should at least have discussions with the overseas
representatives of the Baloch freedom-fighters on this subject in order to
find out their thinking.
10. The situation in Balochistan and the progress of the freedom struggle
are attracting increasing attention abroad. It is learnt there were
recently discussions on the subject at the International Institute For
Strategic Studies (IISS), London, and the Congressionally-funded US
Institute of Peace in Washington DC. Delhi-based think-tanks should invite
the overseas Baloch leaders in order to educate Indian public opinion on
the on-going freedom struggle in Balochistan. India should not hesitate to
extend its political, diplomatic and moral support to the Baloch
freedom-fighters.
(The writer is Additional
Secretary (retd.), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and,
presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.
E-mail:itschen36@gmail.com)
http://www.saag.org/
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