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Another Military Solution
Many
times in the past, Pakistan paid a heavy price for military
solutions of political problems.
In 1971, general Yahya Khan tried to control
political turmoil in East Pakistan through use of military force.
General Tikka Khan told his jawans he needed land not the
people. International media gave him the title of “Butcher of
Bengal” and the people who he wanted to get rid off taught an
unforgetable lesson to Pak Fauj. Unfortunately, Pak Fauj
forgot that lesion within few years and took over the remainder
of Pakistan to continue the same practice there.
Recently general Musharraf has been making
the identical statements and claims about the political turmoil
in Balochistan.
Six months ago he started his operation
against Balochis by saying “they won’t know what had hit them.”
Now, he is saying the situation will be under control in
Balochistan within one month.
If he has failed to control the situation in
Balochistan within last six months how can he control it within
next month?
The problem with Pakistani generals is, and
general Musharraf is no exception, they either under or over
estimate their challenges.
In East Pakistan, they underestimated the
threat because they did not know the nature and tenacity of the
threat. Eventually, threat overwhelmed them and not only they
lost East Pakistan they also lost war and honor.
Once again, GHQ is underestimating the Baloch
threat.
First of all, Balochis should not be treated
they way they are being treated. They are living under centuries
old system. No one should start bombing a particular population
of people if one does not like their life style or system.
Should Balochis start bombing Karachi because
the people of Karachi eat pawns, speak Urdu and revere Altaf
Hussain?
Pakistan is a diverse country. It has over
two hundred and fifty different communities across Pakistan who
have different cultures, different values, different social
systems and different perceptual positions on life.
The problem is not with Balochistan or the
people of Balochistan. The problem is not even with sardars. The
problem is with GHQ which time and again fails to understand the
fundamental realities of human life and does not act
accordingly. It is GHQ that steps on the tail of Balochis under
one or the other excuse. How should Balochis react? Should they
let few out law generals run their lives?
It is not only Balochistan which is simmering
with discontent and restlessness the whole country has reached
to a boiling point.
Instead of going out and bombing the people,
GHQ should pull itself back to its primary duties and vacate the
civil space it has occupied for the last 58 years.
Political problems must be solved in
political manner by political forces. Military solutions to
political problems only fan more turmoil and restlessness among
the masses and give birth to instability and lawlessness.
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