While terror-acts still keep on going in
Balochistan, but without grasping reality, some politicians, human
rights activists, and media persons of Pakistan have been propagating
against Pak Army, Frontier Constabulary (FC), country’s Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI). It seems ridiculous
when some of them allegedly say that security agencies are behind
terrorist activities in Balochistan.
Notably, India, US and Israel have been
internationalizing the Balochistan issue in accordance with their covert
agenda. In this respect, in connivance with the Baloch separatist
leaders who have taken refuge in Switzerland, Sweden, US and London,
these external elements use media, various NGOs and human rights
organisations for false propaganda against Pak Army, FC and ISI in
relation to extrajudicial killings, mutilated bodies and the missing
persons. It is regrettable that while speaking in the tone of their
foreign masters, some internal entities of our country also implicate
Pak army, FC and intelligence agencies, and they totally ignore their
services in Balochistan.
Unfortunately, Balochistan had been hit
in the past by some phenomenally devastating calamities like floods of
1950, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2011 and 2012, drought of 2000
and cyclone of 2007. The real saviors of people of Balochistan were
Armed Forces and FC which quickly responded to the call of duty by
extending helping hand to fellow countrymen, conducted exceptionally
dangerous rescue missions and provided relief to the victims. Similarly,
on September 24, 2013, Awaran district of Balochistan was hit by an
earthquake. Pakistan Army and FC promptly acted as asked for by the
government. Although FC personnel located in the area were equally
struck by the earthquake, yet they were the first ones to respond to the
situation. And the Army units hastily moved from Khuzdar and Karachi.
Despondently, the relief efforts have
been politicized and militarized to the disadvantage of affected
populace. The foreign-backed militants and their foreign collaborators
opposed relief activities by Army and FC in Balochistan. The separatist
elements repeatedly attacked the security forces during relief work.
Media projection of Army relief activities remained at low ebb, while
miscreants were vindicated as their activities were well-projected. It
seemed as if certain media houses and their associated analysts were
outsourced by the miscreants. In this context, an article titled, “Fear
and Loathing in Awaran” by Naziha Syed Ali, published in the daily Dawn
on November 26, 2013 is a case in point.
The author has totally
projected the cause of separatists, while bashing the security
establishment for having failed to win over the hearts and minds of
people in Awaran district of Balochistan. As a journalist, she did not
bother to investigate the under currents of Awaran, and collected views
of only those who represented the banned outfits and therefore missed
the real truth. In fact, Baloch insurgents have created a coercive
atmosphere in the area where public feels awfully frightened and in
order to avoid a backlash from these militants, people have refrained
from issuing media statements. Hence, Naziha Syed Ali’s self-created
argument that no one spoke to her—vouching for the charities—doing any
relief work in the area, lacks strength of credibility and truthfulness.
Balochistan environment envisages that
social scientists must be bold enough to act as participant-observers to
find out the real pulse of people who cannot even express their real
ordeal. To know the inner feelings of people who have been provided by
the Pak Army with food, shelter, clothes, medicine, hospital facilities
and psychological warmth—enhancing their self-esteem, media analysts
must spend more time with victims rather than blowing out unnecessary
views of insurgents. Besides, while advancing the foreign propaganda,
Naziha Syed Ali shows her misperceptions about the missing persons of
Balochistan. She wrote in her article, “The term refers to
individuals—abducted by agents of the state including the FC and
intelligence personnel. Most remain untraced while many are murdered and
dumped…rights groups estimate that thousands of people have been
kidnapped and detained in secret prisons by security forces.”
As regards the missing persons, everyone
knows that Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and their affiliated
outfits including another group, Jundollah (God’s soldiers) which have
been fighting for secession of the province gets logistic support from
American CIA and Indian RAW—these militants kidnapped and killed many
innocent people and the security personnel in the province. They also
massacred many persons through suicide attacks, bomb blasts, targeted
killings and sectarian violence. Therefore, they are responsible for
dumped bodies and extrajudicial killings in the province. On a number of
occasions, these insurgent groups claimed responsibility for their
subversive acts.
Besides, several missing persons went to Afghanistan
and India as they were serving their external secret agents. Some of
them were murdered by external secret agencies to malign Pak Army, FC
and ISI. Notably, since 2001, a majority of Pakistanis also left for
Afghanistan for Jehad purposes, without informing their families, while
many people joined the Jahadi groups. A majority of the disappeared
individuals are also in the detention centers (Farrari Camps) which are
being run by Baloch feudal lords (Sardars) who want to continue old
system of feudalism in the province.
So, Nazia Syed needs to grasp ground
realties in relation to the disappeared persons instead of following
misleading approach of the external entities and that of the judicial
activism. Now, a majority of the Baloch persons has understood that
Balochistan’s mineral resources and geo-strategic location with deep
Gwadar seaport, connecting rest of the world with Central Asia have
annoyed the US and India because China has already invested billion of
dollars to develop this seaport. It is due to multiple strategic designs
that the US which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008 seeks to
dismember both Pakistan and Iran. Meanwhile, by rejecting US growing
pressure, on March 11, 2013 Pakistan’s former President Asif Ali Zardari
inaugurated the gas pipeline project with Iran. Islamabad also handed
over the control of Gwader seaport to China.
During his trip to Beijing, Pakistan’s
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang signed
eight agreements on July 5, 2013 in various fields. The most important
one envisages the establishment of an Economic Corridor between deep
Gwadar seaport of Balochistan and the historic Silk Road city in western
regions-Xinjiang of China. Beijing has also offered to build an
international airport in Gwadar which would be connected with the
communication network of rest of the country to facilitate
transportation of goods. A day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived
in Islamabad; Chinese engineers being driven through Clifton Block-1 in
Karachi escaped a major bomb attack. Afterwards, Baloch separatist
elements targeted Chinese engineers, working at Gwader. In fact,
entrenched in Afghanistan secret agencies like CIA, RAW and Mossad have
perennially been assisting subversive acts in Balochistan to fulfill the
secret strategic designs of US, India and Israel at the cost of
Pakistan, China and Iran.
It is notable that on February 8, 2012,
the hearing of the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by
Dana Rohrabacher discussed target killings and human rights violations
in Balochistan, blaming Pakistan’s security agencies. He also
co-authored an article, favoring an independent Balochistan. It has
exposed external support to the Baloch separatists. But, a Gallup survey
of the UK official body, DFID, conducted on July 20, 2012, disclosed
that the vast majority of the Baloch people oppose the idea of an
independent Balochistan.
As regards the positive role of Army, in
2011, I had visited Balochistan along with other journalists. I saw a
number of institutes, set up by army, and these were providing
education, especially technical training to thousands of Balochis.
Besides other developments works, Pak Army was also imparting army
training to the Baloch youth. So, the purpose of army is to uplift of
the Baloch people with creation of jobs and to bring them in the
mainstream of the country. However, I had also a trip to far-flung areas
of the province and witnessed various mega projects and mineral sites,
protected by the Armed Forces. People also told me that subversive
events are being arranged by the minority separatist elements to create
chaotic situation in the province, and no military operation is being
conducting in the province.
Nevertheless, our print and electronic
media must play positive role in guiding the general masses by
projecting the relief activities of Army and FC in earthquake-hit areas
in wake of worst challenges and disruptions caused by the miscreants.
Instead of misguiding the Baloch people, media must appreciate Army’s
humanitarian role and indicate that no army operation is being conducted
in earthquake-affected areas, as the false propaganda is being
conducted by the militant groups and some Pakistani analysts who are
following foreign agenda, therefore they will not be allowed to hurt
Pakistan’s interests.
It should also be made known to the
separatists that they will never succeed in their designs to damage
Pakistan. It is in their own interests to lay down their arms and stop
making trouble in the province. Their survival and well-being lies only
in united Pakistan. So, stop the filthy game and let the people of
Awaran have their relief goods and get settled.
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