2018: The Year of Balochistan by Sajjad Shaukat (JR121SS17)
It is in response to the article “2018: Not Yet Balochistan’s Year”, written by
Adnan Aamir, published in “The Friday Times” on December 28, 2018, which
clearly seems part of the foreign propaganda campaign to create sense of
deprivation among the Baloch People. Salient of the article are as under:-
The political drama was not yet to end in Balochistan. The
rebel members of PML-N formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). The primary
manifesto point of BAP was that decisions of Balochistan will be made in
Balochistan, as opposed to Raiwand or Larkana. Detractors, however, alleged
that BAP was created by the establishment to take full control of the affairs of
Balochistan.
BAP leaders in Balochistan’s government openly blamed the
PML-N for preventing Balochistan from reaping the benefits of CPEC
[China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]. Balochistan government made a strong case
for the province in 8th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of
CPEC. The provincial government demanded $500 million in socio-economic uplift
projects and 10,000 scholarships for Balochistan, along-with several other
infrastructure projects.
The year 2018 also witnessed the rise of Balochistan Liberation
Army [BLA]–Aslam group. This Baloch insurgent group carried out a suicide blast
targeting Chinese engineers in Dalbandin in August.
Under the sub-title, Same Old Balochistan, Adnan wrote,
nothing changed in Balochistan—Most problems of the province, such as security
situation, power shortages, share in mineral resources and the CPEC, are under
the ambit of the federal government.
In fact, the main aim of the above article is to spread
disinformation regarding the CPEC in a controversial and hidden style and to
misguide the Baloch people against the federal government of Pakistan, while
some foreign anti-Pakistan entities are already misguiding the general masses
of the province. In this regard, by ignoring facts and
ground realities, in one way or the other,
Adnan Aami has became part of these external forces.
However, from
the very beginning, terrorism-related terror attacks in Pakistan’s largest
province of Balochistan have coincided with a continuous propaganda campaign
against Pakistan’s federation and its security forces as part of the
conspiracy—whose aim is also to incite the feelings of the Baloch people
against the key institutes of the country.
When during the
Musharraf regime, with the Chinese assistance, Pakistan initiated the
construction of Gwadar deep-seaport in the Balochistan province in March 2002;
sirens went off in the capitals of foreign countries, especially of the US,
India and Israel who took it as a threat to their global and regional plans. After the shift of the Great Game from Central Asia to
Pakistan’s Balochistan, in the past, intelligence agencies of these
countries, including British MI6 supported target killings, suicide attacks,
hostage-takings, sectarian and ethnic violence, particularly kidnappings of the
Chinese and Iranian nationals through the Baloch separatist elements.
Taking cognizance of the deteriorating situation of the
Balochistan province, Pakistan’s political and
military leaders started focusing their attention on the rapid development of Balochistan to redress the grievances of the people in order to
castigate the conspiracy of the external enemies.
In this regard,
the then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had declared 2012 the ‘Year of Balochistan.’ While in his
address to a rally,
leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran
Khan
(Now Prime Minister) had apologized to the Baloch people for the
national misgivings which were being manipulated by the foreign enemies of Pakistan.
In the recent years, Pakistan’s civil and military
leadership has made strenuous efforts to develop the infrastructure in
Balochistan, providing the people employment opportunities to bring the
Balochis in the mainstream of the country. In this regard, Pak Army has not
only established schools and colleges in Balochistan, but also set up technical
and industrial institutes in the province, besides giving military training to
the youth.
While addressing, the passing-out parade in Quetta on
October 11, 2011, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani pointed out various efforts
of the Pak Army in alleviating the people of Balochistan. He appreciated the then Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Kayani for
ensuring best possible training to bring the youth into the national
mainstream. Gilani highlighted development projects in Balochistan, aimed at
the socio-economic uplift of its people. He said that the federal government
would also provide 30 percent of its shares from the Saindak Project to the
Balochistan government, adding that under the NFC award, fund transferring had
been increased from 5.1 to 9.09
percent.
In 2011, I visited Balochistan along with other journalists. I saw
a number of institutes, set up by army, and these were providing especially
technical training to thousands of the Balochis. I had also a trip to far-flung
areas of the province and witnessed various mega projects and mineral sites,
protected by the army. I was greatly surprised that no
military operation was going on in Balochistan, as propagated
by the external elements. People told me that some
subversive events are taking place by the minority separatist elements so as to
create instability in the province.
It is notable
that armed forces of Pakistan have successfully broken the backbone of the
foreign-backed terrorists by the successful military operations Zarb-e-Azb and
Radd-ul-Fasaad which have also been extended to other parts of the country,
including Balochistan. And Pakistan’s primarily intelligence agency, ISI has
broken the network of these terrorist groups by capturing several militants,
while thwarting a number of terror attempts. But,
in the recent past and during the election-campaign of 2019, blasts in
Balochistan and other regions of the country showed that the US-led India,
Afghanistan and Israel have again started acts of sabotage especially to weaken
Pakistan and to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which
is part of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative or BRI. Washington and
New Delhi has already opposed this project.
It is mentionable that foiled terror attack on the Chinese consulate in
Karachi on November 23, last year was part of the same scheme. In another
terror-related incident, on the same day, at least 35 people were killed and 50
wounded in a blast in Kalaya area of lower
Orakzai district in Hangu (Pakistan).
It is noteworthy
that the separatist group of the Balochistan, BLA claimed responsibility of the
failed terror attempt on the Chinese consulate in Karachi through a tweet.
Pakistan’s media
and reliable sources revealed that in a major development pertaining to attack
on Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan’s Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) on
November 24, 2018 learned that attack was funded by India’s notorious RAW and
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS).
Earlier, LEAs arrested three alleged facilitators in connection with assault on
Chinese Consulate in Karachi. Sources privy to LEAs disclosed that local
facilitators had assisted the BLA’s terrorists in carrying out the appalling
attack. The attack was “planned by banned BLA commander Aslam alias Achhu who
was under treatment at Max Hospital in New Delhi, after being injured in an
operation by Pakistani security forces near Sibi…Achhu had several times
travelled to India from Afghanistan on fake passport”. Recently, he died in India.
Undoubtedly, it shows the connections of the Indian RAW with NDS in
relation to the foiled attempt at the Chinese consulate of Karachi.
Notably, with
tactical support of CIA and Mossad, India is also using Afghan soil to
destabilize Balochistan to slow down the growth of the CPEC and pulling Afghanistan
away from joining the CPEC.
In this respect,
propaganda of external entities, followed by meetings and arranging protests in
the US and some European countries such as UK and Geneva by the Baloch
Sub-Nationalists against the integrity of Pakistan is also part of the same
campaign to destabilize the country, especially Balochistan by criticizing
Beijing and Islamabad in connection with the CPEC project.
In this
connection, RAW and CIA arrange a meeting of Baloch Sub-Nationalists, SSNs
(Sindhi-Sub- Nationalists) and the USNs (Uyghur Sub-Nationalists of China) on
the termination of 35th Session of Human Rights Counsel in Geneva from 12-14
June 2017. The agenda was; planning against the CPEC/Pak-China’s interests in
the region. Mehran Marri attended the conference and delivered a speech
(reportedly prepared by RAW) alleging CPEC as exploitation projects and Baloch
cultural genocide by Pakistan and China. Represents of World Sindh Congress
(WSC) attended the said forum as well. Uyghur human rights activists, Rebiya
Kadeer and Dolikun Aeysa were also present in the said conference.
Similarly, Ahmar
Masti Khan’s ‘American Friends of Balochistan’ organized an event at National
Press Club in Washington, DC August 2017. The speakers included, Hussain Haqqani,
Former Ambassador of Pakistan, Nawab Brahumdagh Bugti, President of Baloch
Liberation Army (via skpye from Switzerland), Nawab Mehran Marri, Chief of
Marri Tribe & President of the Balochistan House, Hammal Haider,
International spokesperson for the Balochistan National Movement, Banuk Kareema
Baluch, President Baloch Students Organization (Azad). They promoted the self-created
theory that Pak Army and China had ill-intentions towards CPEC, Gwadar and
Balochistan’s natural resources.
Likewise, on the
eve of Chinese National Day on 30 Sep 2017, Free Balochistan Movement (FBM)
headed by Harbyar, organized a protest rally in Gottingen, Germany. This has
been done on the Indian sponsored false propaganda about China’s new
colonialism and human rights violations in Balochistan. It was said in their
statements that China and Pakistan nexus is aimed to turn Baloch demography
into a minority.
Nevertheless,
unlike the past, protest/rallies by Baloch insurgent groups abroad have
increased in order to project Balochistan issue on international forums. Baloch
Student Organization-Azad (BSO) also organized a demonstration outside British
Prime Minister’s residence in London on Oct 1, 2017 against alleged Pakistan
war crimes in Balochistan.
Although foreign
intelligence agencies such as CIA, RAW and Mossad have continued supporting
various types of intrigues against Pakistan and China, yet Balochistan has
become their special target and these secret agencies have accelerated their
aggressive campaign, particularly to harm the CPEC project.
In this regard,
with the help of Baloch nationalist leaders who have taken refuge in western
countries; these hostile elements have launched a false propaganda campaign by
spreading disinformation about natural resources, progressive works and the
CPEC. Thus, they are misguiding the Baloch people.
The agents of
CIA, RAW and Mossad are well-penetrated in various NGOs and human rights
organizations which are being used for a malicious propaganda against
Pakistan’s security forces. In this respect, on July 31, 2011, with the help of
external elements, a rally was organised by Baloch Human Rights Council in UK,
in front of the US Embassy in London, which raised false accusations such as
inhuman torture and extrajudicial murder of the Baloch intellectuals by the
inhuman actions of the Pakistani army.
On August 3,
2011, the then ISPR spokesman, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, while rejecting human
rights groups’ reports about Balochistan as a conspiracy against Pakistan,
called for probing the funding of these organizations, as “this could be traced
back to those forces which want to destabilize Pakistan.”
It is noteworthy
that on September 6, 2017, in a letter to Ambassador Valentin Zellweger-the
permanent representative of the Swiss government at the United Nations (UN),
Ambassador Farukh Amil-the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN has
taken up the matter of posters, raised in the area around Rio de Ferney in
Grand Sacconex, Geneva—mentioned the name of Balochistan House (BH) as a
sponsor—terming the incident as a belligerent attack on the “sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Pakistan” by giving calls for ‘free Balochistan’.
According to the
ambassador, a car “remained parked near [the digital poster] and seemed to be
guarding [it]…the BH, the apparent sponsor of these posters is an affiliate of
the BLA, which is a “listed terrorist organisation under the laws of Pakistan
and other countries, including the United Kingdom.”
It is also of
particular attention that patriot Baloch people have come to know the foreign
plot against the integration of Pakistan. They know that Pak Army has not only
been successful in uprooting the anti-state elements, but also contributed a
lot in socio-economic development of Balochistan. Army’s positive steps are increasing income of
the Baloch youth and reducing their dependence on the feudal lords (Sardars),
while external-backed insurgency has been hampering the growth and development
of the province. Besides, the Baloch are very well-aware of the fact that
instead of Sardars, royalty of the mineral resources go to the provincial
government of Balochistan.
Baloch persons
know that the Sardars who have been fighting for their own so-called status,
prestige and influence, do not want to give up the old system of feudalism.
Therefore, with the assistance of the US-led India and Israel, these
anti-Pakistan entities are inciting them against Pak Army, Punjabis and the
federation.
Loyalist Baloch
people are well-aware of the reality that they would be the real beneficiary of
the CPEC. Completion of the CPEC-deep Gwadar seaport of Balochistan with an
international airport at Gwadar and the roads infrastructure in Gwadar would
link the communication networks of rest of the country to facilitate
transportation of goods. When Gwadar seaport becomes fully operational, it would
connect the landlocked Central Asian states with rest of the world. Gwadar
project which is backbone of the CPEC will uplift the impoverished people of
Balochistan by providing thousands of employment opportunities, especially to
the less developed areas by redressing their grievances. The resulting
prosperity in Balochistan would damp the separatist sentiments of the people,
which the hostile elements, supported by Washington, New Delhi and Tel Aviv do
not want.
It is
worth-mentioning that since the government of the Balochistan province
announced general pardon and protection to the Baloch militants as part of
reconciliation process, many insurgents and their leaders have surrendered
their arms and decided to work for the development of Pakistan and the province
by including themselves in the mainstream of the country, and peace has been
restored in the province.
But, it is
misfortune that some internal entities like Adnan Aamir are still misleading
the Baloch people in accordance with the hidden agenda of some foreign powers
who have been trying to destabilize Balochistan.
The people
residing in Balochistan must remain loyal to Pakistan so as to thwart nefarious
designs against the integrity of the country.
Nonetheless,
facts and ground realities endorse that ‘2018 was the year of Balochistan’.
