THE state has to abandon its absolutist approach towards the Baloch, especially the youth. Its thinly disguised hostility for their fundamental freedoms has led to a deep shift in the Baloch mindset, leaving the populace fearful and alienated. Incidents such as the one on Friday, where a Baloch student of Punjab University was arrested from the gate of the New Campus by police and men in plain clothes, aggravate an already fractured relationship between the province and the state. The CCTV footage shows raw brutality by the police — when Fareed Hussain Baloch resisted and tried to escape, he was beaten up and dragged into a private car as security guards looked on. This has sparked mass outrage, with the Baloch Council of PU fearing that he will be implicated in serious, false charges. Sadly, PU has been the venue for a string of similar cases. In 2018, Punjab police handpicked 190 Baloch students embroiled in clashes between student groups, who were then slapped with anti-terrorism charges. Pakhtun students too have faced repeated attacks. These assaults are tantamount to ethnic discrimination and make the government’s overtures of peace, such as Balochistan caretaker home minister’s claim that angry Baloch “should come and play their role in the development of Balochistan”, ring hollow.

Blind abuse and victimisation of Baloch youth is hardly the stuff of applause; it fuels disenfranchisement and mistrust and forces people to choose radicalisation so that many equate identity with separatist forces. For this to change, the government must overcome an acute trust deficit with Balochistan and cease its police state methods. Admittedly, the road to consolidation is long and splintered. However, safeguarding the rights and political claims of Baloch and Pakhtun youth is a good place to start. Their say in development, opportunity and policymaking equals that of anyone else. And traumas must heal or Pakistan will continue to pay a heavy price in the shape of militancy.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2023