BALOCHISTAN presents a variety of complications spawned by the historical neglect of its people’s rights and the perverse determination to press on with ruinous security-centric policies. The ferocious conflict that has engulfed Wadh, Khuzdar district, since Wednesday — although a tenuous ceasefire is currently in place — is another manifestation of the same.

On the surface, it is a feud sparked by notorious outlaw Shafiq Mengal’s men forcibly occupying land belonging to tribal chief and BNP-M president Akhtar Mengal. With both sides heavily armed, an extended confrontation could lead to things spinning further out of control. Former chief minister Aslam Raisani has stepped in to broker peace.

However, as Akhtar Mengal himself said in a bluntly worded tweet, this is part of a far bigger problem, that it does not pertain to a specific area or a particular tribe but is an outcome of the shocking impunity with which ‘death squads’ have been allowed to operate in Balochistan.

Indeed, no lasting solution to the conflict can be found if individuals like Shafiq Mengal remain ‘in play’. He was part of the state’s response to the Baloch insurgency, whereby extremist groups and tribal militias — such as his Baloch Musalla Difa Tanzeem — were given carte blanche to hunt down separatists.

Had there been any rule of law in Balochistan, instead of short-sighted policies that generated cycles of bestial violence, Shafiq Mengal and his gang would not have been able to commit the serious crimes they are alleged to be involved in, including murder, robbery and kidnapping for ransom. Locals still refuse to speak on the record about that reign of terror in Khuzdar district during which journalists, teachers and doctors were slain in targeted killings.

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It was only after the public outcry over the discovery in Tootak of mass graves of missing people, with evidence suggesting his group’s involvement in the crime, that he was reportedly asked to step back. But he remained free. In fact, Shafiq Mengal was a candidate in the 2018 elections for the National Assembly seat from Khuzdar — further evidence of a political landscape engineered to a point where it bears little resemblance to a representative democracy. After all, even sardars like Akhtar Mengal, who won the seat, need to be reminded of the limits to their power.

Underlying all these machinations is the real tragedy being endured by the people of Balochistan. Among the most backward and regressive areas of the province, Khuzdar district has a deeply entrenched tribal culture. Neocolonial policies of divide and rule have exacerbated the existing problems.

What will it take for the state to place the people of Balochistan, their right to provincial autonomy and ownership of the natural resources that lie beneath their soil, above its own narrow interests?

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2023