WHILE the separatist insurgency in Balochistan may be in a low phase, the gruesome murders of four workers and a policeman in Kech district, early on Tuesday, comes as a grim reminder that the situation in Pakistan’s largest province is far from normal. Unidentified gunmen stormed a police station in the Nasirabad area near Turbat and opened indiscriminate fire, mowing down four labourers originally hailing from Punjab, as well as a police officer. The unfortunate labourers, who had been working at a government construction site, were sleeping in the police station as a security precaution. In a similar incident last month, six workers, also hailing from Punjab, were murdered in Turbat. While no claim has been made regarding the latest atrocity, several such incidents have occurred over the past few years, with Baloch separatist outfits involved.

If one cannot find shelter in a police station, is any place in Balochistan safe? While there can be no justification for such ghastly crimes, the state has made things worse by failing to address the root causes of disaffection and militancy in Balochistan. The current Baloch insurgency is nearly two decades old, and while levels of violence have fluctuated, the state has failed to adopt a strategy to end the violence. There are superficial offers made now and then inviting the ‘angry’ Baloch to the table; a similar offer was made last week by the province’s caretaker home minister. Yet none of these endeavours gets off the ground, perhaps because there is a ‘democratic deficit’ in the province. It is no secret that political and administrative activities in Balochistan are tightly controlled by the powers that be. Unless this changes and leaders freely chosen by the people are allowed to steer the ship, matters will remain the same. Moreover, unless the fruits of development fully reach the people of Balochistan, such atrocious crimes will continue to take place, as the state struggles to react.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2023