New Delhi, 26th March, 2007.The continued insistence of military rulers on forcing a military solution to growing insurgency in Balochistan – Pakistan's largest and also the poorest province – and giving freedom to Al Qaeda and Taliban forces to mount attacks inside Afghanistan present a scary scenario. Ceaseless bombing of Balochistan Liberation Army fighters, large-scale disappearances of political activists, neglect of economic development and suppression of political activity and human rights have contributed to a situation of instability. This could have unforeseen consequences for the stability of Pakistan itself.
The situation could become more critical if the Americans intensify their activities from the facilities available to them in Pakistan and a situation of conflict with Iran develops. The US not only wants Taliban and Al Qaeda bases in Balochistan to be liquidated to prevent attacks on NATO forces operating in the southern Afghan provinces, but also that Islamabad should play a more active role in isolating Iran by helping distance the regional Islamic states from Tehran as much as possible. Obviously, Washington has made Gen. Pervez Musharraf believe that an Iranian nuclear bomb would help Tehran dominate the region that contains 700 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and produces 21 million barrels daily.
It is natural that interested external powers take advantage of the disturbed conditions in Balochistan to further their strategic interests with the connivance of the military regime in Islamabad. By and large the Baloch people have not been fully integrated and accepted within Pakistani society. Nearly 3000 persons, mostly young men, including President of the late Akbar Bugti's Wattan Party, have gone missing, presumably picked up by the security forces. The situation would lead to dismemberment, violent sectarianism and proliferation of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters and have disastrous repercussions for Pakistan if Balochistan is sucked into a new great game to redraw the map of the region.
