The capture of Gulzar Inam, one of the leaders of the Balochistan Republican Army, represents a signal success on a number of levels. As the BRA was part of the terrorist nexus which had grown after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, the arrest will put a significant cramp in its activities. Mr Imam stll leads the group, which he founded. One of the most important dampeners is that the nexus he was developing with the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, will be affected, and thus the resulting expansion in the ability of the Baloch separatists and sectarian forces to strike anywhere in Pakistan, will be countered. Not just vBaloch separatism, but terrorism as a whole, will be significantly hurt. As Mr Inam was such a leading terrorist, whatever he spills under interrogation while in custody, will prove helpful.
However, just asking him about terrorism and terrorists will make this merely a temporary victory. The root cause of terrorism must be addressed. This involves an acceptance that incorrect policies have made recruits available to Mr Inam and the BRA. Balochistan is the country’s largest province, but that should not imply, as it does, that its people must have the worst scores on the Human Development Index. That is not the only problem, for that is caused by interference in the province’s politics, which has not just meant that distortion of the province’s politics to fit certain objectives but also the creation of the problem of enforced disappearances of all those who stood out politically.
It has now become imperative for the federation to let Balochistan develop politically, socially and economically so that it achieves its true potential. If it does not do so, it will keep on being confronted with separatist movements. At the moment, the real danger is posed by separatists joining hands with sectarians operationally. The moment to really be dreaded is if there is ever an ideologically combination. At such a point, those little men who presently are so blithe in their ‘management’ of Balochistan’’s affairs, will not know how to handle the situation. Apart from leaving Balochistan’s politics to its people, there is a relatively small expenditure of resources, which can easily be made from the rich natural resources of the province, that need to be made to solve the problems of the people. That must be made.
